Morning Orchid
by Canna
Summary: AU. Deidara is a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly looking for a home. When he said home, he had imagined an artistic place filled with flowers, not being held captive in an Orchid Mantis' nest and kept as live stock. Sasodei with side pairings KisaIta and KakuHidan -Yaoi- Rated M for future chapter. Beta'd by Chillybean. NEW CHAPTER UP FOR MAY!
1. Golden Wings

"Deidara!"

"…"

"Deidara you lazy ass, get up!"

"Hmm…" The blond moaned, turning away from the noise as a pair of beautifully large wings fluttered and wrapped around his body like a blanket.

"For Jashin's sake wake up!" The voice screamed as a hand roughly peeled the Papilio glaucus's* wing to the side.

"Ugh…wha– Hidan?" The butterfly yawned loudly as he opened a beautiful bluebell eye to the Hemicordulia Tau* violently shaking him.

"Hurry and get the fuck up." The zealous dragonfly snapped as he grabbed the blonde's arm and forced him out of his bed.

"What are you doing?" Deidara whined as he felt himself being dragged into the air. Unlike the dragonfly's energetic wings, his large, black stripped yellow wings were flapping limply with only enough strength to keep him hovering.

"That's my line you fucking moron." Hidan snapped. Once he dragged the blond high enough, he let go of his friend and scowled. "What the fuck were you thinking sleeping on a dandelion? Do you have a death wish?" He yelled with his arms crossed over his chest.

"What's the problem with sleeping on a dandelion?" Deidara murmured as he dusted some pollens off his golden yellow kimono. The kimono was decorated with black tiger strips that matched his large wings.

"I told you a thousand times that you got to fucking blend yourself in!"

"I was, un!" Deidara countered, his wings beginning to flap faster now that he was fully awake. "How was that not blending in?" Now it was his turn to scowl. The butterfly never appreciated being suddenly ripped off his bed, especially when the sun hasn't even risen.

"Sure you were. In the field of yellow, your black and blue was a dead giveaway." Hidan snickered.

Deidara on the other hand frowned, unable to find any humour in the dragonfly's words. "Then you tell me where I could–"

"Enough about that, we can talk after we find a safer place." Hidan sighed as he began looking around for any place where they could continue their talk. Deidara agreed, knowing that it would be too dangerous staying in the open air where all their enemies could see them.

"Let's go to Itachi's!"

"We went there yesterday." Deidara said with a frown tugging at his lips. "Why don't we go to Kakuzu's place, un?"

"As if a pile of twigs could fucking hide _that_," Hidan jabbed a finger to the other's sun coloured wings that were shimmering beneath the brightening sky. "Come on blondie. I'm sure Itachi doesn't give a shit."

**_"Leave."_**

It was amazing how such a short, simple word could convey so much.

"Oh come on Itachi-chan." Hidan laughed as he jokingly slapped the back of the Scarlet Tiger Moth*. "It's not like it's gonna fucking kill you to have company."

Deidara stayed silent. Unlike the oblivious dragonfly, the butterfly could at least read the atmosphere. Although he knew Itachi wouldn't go as far to kick them out, he could tell that their frequent visits were beginning to irritate him. Deidara couldn't blame him. After all, even he would be angry if insects, friends or not, kept barging into his and his lover's nest.

"Itachi, I'm back." A voice called outside the door to the underground tunnel. Itachi glanced up, rising from his seat as he stepped out of the way just in time as the door above began to open. Soft rays of sunlight spilled from the surface, hitting the chair where Itachi had been sitting until a moment ago. Deidara watched as the moth used his beautiful crimson and white polka doted black wings to shield himself from the intense light. Deidara always found this behaviour of Itachi's weird since Itachi was supposed to be like him, an insect of daylight. Whenever Deidara tried to ask for the reason though, he only got a cold shoulder in reply.

A second after the sunlight faded away, the door closed. As darkness took over, the patterned rocks in the walls and ceilings began illuminating in a soft, yellowish light. Sunstones. It was a very common thing which insects used to light their house. No one knows how or why the stone has the ability to glow within the darkness, but since it could be commonly found just about everywhere, no one really cares for the logic behind it.

Hearing the sound of buzzing wings, Deidara looked up as the large Cicada Killer Wasp* made his way down the tunnel to his home.

"Oh?" The wasp mused when he noticed the guests he has. "Deidara, Hidan, here again?"

"Yo, bluey." Hidan greeted, making fun of the wasp's unnatural skin tone as usual. Deidara smiled at the cicada dangling lifelessly on the wasp's large sword, Samehada.

"Looks like you got yourself a nice catch there, Kisame no danna, un."

"It wasn't that hard." Kisame replied, smiling to reveal his set of sharp, nicely lined teeth. Tossing his breakfast aside, he went over to the shadow and wrapped an arm around his lover. "I'm back." Deidara could hear the wasp murmuring softly as he planted small kisses into the nook of the moth's pale neck.

"Get a room you fuckers." Hidan said teasingly while Deidara felt a little out of place standing here.

"This _is _our room." Kisame corrected flatly, slightly irritated by the interruption. "So why are you two here again?" Kisame planted a last kiss to the moth's pale cheeks before he reluctantly pulled away. His blue skinned hand reached into his pocket and carefully pulled out a leaf-wrapped bundle. He handed it to Itachi who then set it onto the beautifully carved wooden table. After that, he disappeared into the kitchen on the other end of the living room.

"You come here so often, Kakuzu will be jealous." Kisame stated as he set Samehada aside.

"Heh, I would rather spend my fucking time with him than seeing you two make-out." Hidan said before his gaze shifted to Deidara. "It's blondie here who needs help. Kuzu's pile of dead leaves and twigs ain't fit for those Jashin damn wings."

"Of course." Deidara rolled his eyes. "I'm not a Phasmatodea* in case you haven't noticed, un. Besides, I can find a place myself."

"In a field of nothing but fucking dandelions?" Deidara glowered, but was unable to think of a comeback. "Face it blondie, you ain't gonna find a home at this rate. You got lots of admires. Why don't you just choose a nice mate out of them?" Deidara turned to Hidan with a look of horror that said; _you can't be serious_. Fortunately before his friend could reply, Itachi returned with two mugs in his hands. The moth went over to the package on the table that Kisame had brought for him. He tore a small hole into the leaf as fresh sugary substance gushed out and flooded the inside of the cup. The sweet scent of the honey water flowed into the air, reminding Deidara of his empty stomach thanks to a certain Jashinist.

Itachi silently filled the mugs with sweet nectar and held one up for Deidara who gratefully took it. "Thanks, Itachi." He took a seat across from Itachi with Kisame and Hidan soon joining around the table.

"So Deidara." Deidara looked up to the wasp sitting close beside his mate. "Where do you plan on finding a home?"

"Well…" Deidara murmured as he took a sip before setting his cup onto the table. "Somewhere with flowers…"

"No shit." Hidan sighed. "We're asking you where that fucking _somewhere_ is."

"Wherever you chose, you need to hurry." Itachi spoke, lacking emotions in his voice.

"Why? Is a storm coming, un?"

"The bee colony…" Itachi's voice trailed off as Deidara's eyes widened.

"Bee colony?" Both he and Hidan shouted at the same time.

"So I take it you two didn't know." Kisame said calmly, almost as though he expected such reaction from the two.

"No shit." Hidan snapped as he quickly leaped onto his feet. "I gotta tell Kakuzu 'bout this." With that, the dragonfly quickly flew away, his transparent wings beating so fast that he sounded almost like those noisy flies. With a slam of the door, he was gone, leaving Deidara alone with the couple.

"The colony…" Deidara hesitated a little, "is it Iwa?"

"No." Itachi replied. "It's Konoha."

"Konoha?" Deidara whispered in disbelieve. "Why is such a large colony coming all the way here?"

"Apparently the third was killed. The new ruler, Tsunade, decided to move Konoha to this location since there are better vegetation and fewer predators." Kisame explained. "That's why if you want to find a home, you better find one quick. You know how bees are. If you don't draw out a territory, there won't be any food left."

"If that's the case, then I better start looking, un." Deidara sighed as he settled the empty mug onto the table. "Thanks for the food." He gave a smile to the couple. With a wave, he flew out of the underground home and was greeted by the warm sunlight.

"But even if I said that…" Deidara mumbled as he glanced around, not sure where he should go. There was no suitable hiding place for him and he wasn't exactly born as a butterfly with natural camouflaging ability.

"This is impossible, un."

Deidara glanced around the field of flowers with another deep sigh. There was no flower suitable for him and even if he does find a flower like that, then what? He can't make nest like Kisame or Kakuzu. He's from the family of Papilionidae for crying out loud. To begin with, his species doesn't make any nest because there was never the need. Though Deidara doesn't want to admit it, Hidan was right. For his kin, outlooks have always been their ultimate weapons. All they needed to do was use their looks to seduce some stupid insects (regardless of gender) and have their mate take care of everything.

They were creatures with absolutely no dignity, at least, that was how it was in Deidara's mind.

"Argh…why me?" Deidara stared off into the distance, not that he could see much with those enormous trees blocking his view. "Stupid wings…" Deidara cursed to himself. His face twisted in disgust as he stared at the blue post median area on his dorsal hind wing. It was a beautiful colour, he has to admit, but the blond hated it with a passion. Although his body was born as a male, his wings belonged to the female of his species…the blue patch of colour was more than enough proof.

Thanks to this, it has caused him more problems than not…

"Dei-chan!" And here was the **main** one…

"Hey, Dei-chan!" The swallowtail groaned in misery as he unwillingly turned to the source of the voice. "Dei-chan~" The voice sang cheerfully while Deidara in comparison frowned. He watched with a blank gaze at the Hoverfly* hovering over him.

"Stop calling me that and leave me alone." Deidara snapped, nothing but pure annoyance in his voice. He stood from his resting place to fly away when he suddenly found his path blocked.

"Come on, don't be so cold." The fly said with a toothy grin. "How about a date? It's a fine morning."

"Sounds nice but I don't have time for this, un." Deidara tried to fly around him, only to have his way blocked again. Narrowing his eye at the fly, the butterfly sneered. "Move."

"You always have something to do. We never have time to go on a date."

Deidara could feel his blood beginning to boil from just talking to this thick skulled air head. For a bug that looks like a bee, it was a pity how he didn't have the crucial part of the honey making insect.

A brain.

"Look. You're just a _stranger_. I don't even know you, so what makes you think I'll date you?" Deidara snapped as he turned to fly away but the hoverfly intercepted again. "What now?" Deidara growled, the last thread of his patience snapped. The fly just kept smiling, either too dumb to see his mood or didn't even care.

"Does that mean if we get to know each other Dei-chan'll go on a date with me?"

"**NO!**" With his point made, Deidara quickly turned and flapped his wings as fast as he could to get away from the persistent fly. He flew into the forest, making a couple of sharp turns before darting into a thick bush. He peeked out from between the gaps of two leaves to see the hoverfly flying quickly by in search of him. He sat on a piece of leaf and waited. After making sure the coast was cleared, he quickly dashed out and flew to the opposite direction.

_'It's dark here…'_ Deidara turned to the sky that was shaded by the lush green leaves of the trees. He glanced around nervously. Although he knew that there weren't many birds here, it didn't mean there was none at all. The darkness of the shadow felt chilling to his wings as he flapped quicker. Apparently, he was deeper in the forest than he had thought. Suddenly, a hideous screeching sound of a bird echoed throughout the forest. Deidara yelped as he felt his blood go cold. He looked around cautiously. Then, he saw a shimmer of light in the distance behind a tree. Not caring what it was, he quickly flew towards it. When he was pulled into the light, Deidara stared in awe at the large rock lying flatly on the ground with about a dozen of orchids growing out of the cracks and dry, grassless soil around it.

"Wow…" Deidara murmured, looking around the trees that surrounded this place before looking to the sunlight beaming down on the flowers. He flew over to one and sniffed at the sweet aroma emitting from it. After looking around to make sure that the place was safe, he sat down on the fluffy pink petal. He smiled happily as he spread his wings to bathe them in the warmth of the light.

"What a nice place…" He murmured to himself as he pulled his knees under his chin. '_Maybe I could stay here…'_ The butterfly thought to himself, but he just laughed that thought off, knowing that it was only wishful thinking. There was no way he could stay in an open place like this. "I never asked to be a butterfly, un." He murmured, wondering what he did in his previous life to make fate hate him so much.

If only he was born into something else…even turning into a snail would be better than this. At least then he'd be born with a home.

A small breeze caressed his slightly tanned skin as Deidara sighed deeply. He closed his eyes to enjoy the breeze when a painful jab sliced through his side. Deidara screamed from the immense pain as his world was suddenly flipped around. He cried out when his body slammed into the hard surface of the rock below, his right wing twisting painfully at an awkward angle. Managing to open an eye, he realized for the first time that he wasn't alone. There was someone towering over him. Due to the sunlight positioned overhead, he couldn't make out anything but the silhouette.

Then…Deidara's world turned black.

By the time his consciousness returned and his eyes opened, the sun and the clear sky was no longer there. Deidara groaned softly as he tried to move, but immediately regretted it as throbbing pain stabbed against his side and damaged wing. "Where…?" Deidara murmured as he stared at the sunstones that lit the place. He glanced around the unfamiliar chamber and rubbed his finger against the hard soil ground.

"I'm…beneath the surface?" Deidara shook his head as he quickly tried to recall what had happened.

He was sitting on an orchid when…suddenly…something...someone…

"…!" Gasping in realization, Deidara quickly tried to climb onto his feet which he soon regretted as a sharp pain stabbed against his side. He clutched over where the pain was coming from and glanced down to see dried blood staining his kimono. He frantically looked around the place he was being held in, but the room was completely sealed with only a wooden door that he was sure was locked.

**"UWAAAH!"**

A high pitch scream suddenly came out of nowhere, causing Deidara's soul to nearly jump out of his body. "What…what was that?" Deidara whispered breathlessly to himself as he slowly turned towards the door. Faint footsteps began echoing down the hall as Deidara slowly shifted back. He heard the sound of wood clattering against each other before the lock to the door was turned with a loud _click_.

Deidara shifted back nervously. Could it be a spider? Then again, that would be impossible. If it was a spider, then he would be wrapped in the arachnid's web rather than being thrown in here. When the heavy looking door swung open, Deidara flinched as he saw a pair of feet stepping out of the shadow. When the figure stepped into the dim sunstone light, Deidara felt his breath caught in the back of his throat.

Before him stood the most beautiful insect he has ever seen. From his height, the stranger was probably a head taller than him with short crimson hair gently caressing his pale, porcelain neck. He wore a robe, colours ranging from deep crimson to white. The robe fluttered weightlessly in the air, almost giving out a flowery image. So deep in thought, Deidara failed to notice the stranger stepping up to him until he felt cool fingers brushing by his cheek. By the time Deidara reacted, he was slammed into the solid wall with a large hand griping tightly over his neck.

When Deidara glanced up, he was met with a pair of cold, honey brown eyes.

"You must be stupid, sitting there for so long without realizing someone behind you." The crimson haired insect chuckled as he ran his free hand over Deidara's broken wing, taking his time examining his catch. Deidara clawed at the hand, trying to break free but failed miserably. The insect was incredibly strong despite his delicate look.

"Wha…" Deidara choked "…what are you?"

"Can't you tell?" The creature snorted as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Then, he suddenly released his grip and Deidara's side collided against the cold ground. He coughed heavily as he rubbed his stinging neck while trying to hold a glare against his captor.

"I wouldn't…be asking if I knew…un…" He said between coughs and pants.

"You should at least know a mantis when you see one."

"Mantis?" Deidara gasped as he stared at the man. Noticing his gaze the mantis turned and mouthed a sharp _what?_ "Ah…no…" Deidara whispered softly as he pulled his face out of the filthy ground. "Mantis is…you know…" Deidara's eye scanned over the man again. "Muscular…" _especially their brain "…_large…"_savage, _"…you know," _gross_ "gro–"

"What?" The mantis glared as Deidara quickly bit his tongue when he realized what he had almost said.

"Grassy coloured!" Deidara gasped, ignoring the taste of blood swirling inside his mouth. The mantis seemed to have bought it. Either that or he never cared much for the butterfly's opinion.

"Looks like it's your first time encountering an Orchid Mantis*."

"Orchid mantis?" Deidara whispered, letting the words soak into his brain. _'Orchid?'_ He stared at the way the mantis was dressed. That would explain his beautiful features and that flowery coloured hair. To resemble a flower…Deidara didn't know why, but he felt a sudden wave of jealousy towards his captor.

"Do they…" Deidara stared at that flawless smooth face that normal mantis could never have, "all look like you?"

Noticing the innocent curiosity in the blonde's voice, the mantis narrowed his eyes. "…Hn. Strange brat," he murmured in a low voice. To his surprise, the butterfly could actually hear him.

"Who are you calling a brat?" Deidara shouted in disapproval. However, at his outburst, the redhead's gaze only narrowed further. He grabbed Deidara by the collar of his kimono and pulled him close so their noses were almost touching.

"Don't forget your situation, brat." The redhead hissed softly into his ear with a chilled smile. "You're only preserved food. Be grateful that I've just fed, or I would have torn your neck off." With that said; the mantis shoved Deidara away and headed for the door.

Deidara lay on the ground, wincing from the pain in his wounds as he glanced up just as the wooden door slammed shut. A click echoed, indicating that it was locked again.

_'Just fed?'_ Deidara thought in horror as he remembered back to that sharp scream. Deidara then began to wonder if he would scream like that when it was his turn to be eaten. When he realized what kind of disturbing thoughts were going through his head, he quickly shook them away. _'I have to get out…un.' _Deidara desperately thought as he looked around trying to figure out a way to escape from here in one piece.

* * *

Papilio glaucus (Deidara) - A species of swallowtail butterfly. The butterflies are yellow with four black "tiger stripes" on each fore wing. The female of this species differ from the male in having blue postmedian area on the dorsal hind wing.

Hemicordulia Tau (Hidan) - A species of dragonfly in the family Corduliidae.

Scarlet Tiger Moth (Itachi) - A colourful moth belonging to the tiger moth family, Arctiidae. It is one of the few tiger moths with developed mouthparts, allowing it to feed on nectar.

Cicada killer wasp (Kisame) – Is a large digger wasp species. Cicada killers are large, solitary wasps in the family Crabronidae. They are named because they hunt cicadas and provision their nests with them.

Phasmatodea (Kakuzu) – Are an order of insects, whose members are variously known as stick insects, walking sticks, etc. They resemble sticks, giving them natural camouflages which are hard to spot. They can be found all over the world in warmer zones.

Hoverfly – As their name suggests, they are often seen hovering or nectaring at flowers. They resemble stinging wasps or bees, which must give them some protection from predators.

Orchid Mantis (Sasori) – A type of Flower Mantis: A common name given to various species of praying mantis that mimic flowers. Although this species does not live on orchids, it does look remarkably well like a flower or orchid.

* * *

Edited by Alex-loves-her-Louie! Please give her credits for using her precious time to help make this story better!


	2. Crimson Sand

"What do you want?" A low growl rumbled through the Orchid Mantis's throat. The black haired Psaltoda plaga* chuckled at the unwelcoming scowl. They stood on the sandy ground, a fair distance from the orchids and the hidden entrance to the mantis's home.

"Sasori-sama, please hear us out first." The Cyphochilus beside the cicada spoke with a polite bow to show the other proper courtesy.

"Kabuto." Sasori shot the silver haired youngling a chilling glare. "Who gave you permission to speak?"

At the coldness in the Orchid Mantis's tone, Kabuto stepped back a little.

"Kukuku…" The cicada chuckled as his golden eyes scanned Sasori in amusement. "Still such a foul attitude."

The crimson haired mantis kept a composed face. "I've warned you, Orochimaru. Show your face before me again," Sasori's glare shifted to Kabuto, indicating that he was included in his speech, "and I **will **kill you."

Orochimaru smirked, not the slightest fazed by the other's threats. "I simply came because I heard some interesting news." He fearlessly met Sasori's cold glare. "You see, I heard rumour of a beautiful Papilionidae living in the nearby meadow. But strangely, it would appear that the butterfly went missing two suns ago." Amber eyes trailed off to the tall orchids growing on the mantis's turf.

He paused a little as if to see if the mantis has anything to say.

When the redhead didn't, Orochimaru continued on. "I just so happened to hear that you've got yourself quite a catch," Sasori narrowed his honey brown eyes in irritation, "you don't mind if I see it, do–"

The last word of Orochimaru's sentence was inaudible due to the loud crashing noise that disrupted the peace. Sasori slowly raised his arm, revealing a long, light blue blade extended from his hand. Like any other mantis's blades, it was long and curved like the shape of a waxing crescent. The blade itself was an indication of the mantis's power. The longer the blade, the more powerful the mantis was and to say Orochimaru wasn't impressed by Sasori's blade would be a huge understatement. He had seen the mantis's blade more than his fingers could count, but he could never get tired of it. Something that impressive doesn't come by easily – especially when the mantis itself was already a rare beauty.

The said mantis relaxed his hand. With a shift of his fingers, the blade scattered apart into five thin threads. When the dusts were cleared from his sight, Sasori found himself staring at a large crater in the dried ground with his two unwelcomed guests gone from sight.

"Kukukuku, so there _is_ something."

Sasori tilted his head up to the source of that annoying laughter.

Brown eyes locked onto amber ones.

"Whatever I catch is none of your business."

Orochimaru smirked, but the instant he did, he felt a stinging pain graze his cheek. The cicada's confident smirk instantly dropped. He slowly lifted a finger to feel a droplet of his warm blood sliding down his face.

"Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto gasped in worry. He made a move to fly to his master but instantly stopped with a sharp flinch.

"Get lost." Sasori snarled. "You've taken enough of my time already." The blue threads fluttered and retracted back into the Orchid Mantis's fingertips. "If you have the time to scowl, why don't you take care of that wound?"

Orochimaru's glare darkened as he wiped another trail of blood from his sickly pale skin. "You think this little injury would hurt me?" Orochimaru hissed, but was met with those knowing brown eyes again. Orochimaru immediately recognized the amusement in those eyes and loathed it. As much as he enjoyed that flower-like feature of the insect, he never liked the look those brown eyes always held. His concentration of glaring at the redhead was cut to a short when a sudden scream echoed behind him.

"You like beautiful things don't you, Orochimaru?" Sasori smirked as he emotionlessly watched the Cyphochilus fall from the sky and slammed against the hard soil. "I deliberately spared the face. _Be grateful_."

Orochimaru looked down to find Kabuto lying on his side. The white beetle was clutching against a deep gash within his chest in a weak attempt to stop the blood. The way he was struggling for breath and coughing out blood indicated that his lungs have been damaged.

"Sasori…" Orochimaru's gaze darkened back to the Orchid Mantis who had already began walking back towards the direction of his home.

"You don't have the time to glare at me." Sasori said without looking back. There wasn't any need to, as he knew the cicada well…almost _too_well for his own liking. The insect itself was a coward, relying only on his followers to accomplish whatever pathetic goals he has.

He listened as the beating sound of wings and whimpers grew faint. Once Sasori couldn't hear anything anymore, he was sure the two had left. He stepped around a large leaf of the orchid and kicked at the loose dirt at his feet. After pushing some of the dirt away, a pair of doors made from the rough surface of tree bark was revealed. Sasori held out his hands as the same blue threads slowly extended from the tip of his fingers. The threads didn't harden into a blade like it did before. Instead, it kept its flexibility, slowly creeping down until it slipped through the gap between the two doors.

A second later, a soft click came from the other side. The wooden doors swung open, revealing a passage stretching deep down into his home. Once Sasori stepped through, the door slammed shut behind him and the sunstones at his feet illuminated his path.

"A beautiful Papilionidae." Sasori snorted as he thought back to that noisy catch he had locked in his home. "What part of that brat is beautiful?" Sasori intended to say it in a mocking tone, but none of his mockery properly came through.

Certainly the brat was different – much different than any of his prey he had ever captured. For one thing, they would never react like what the blond did when they realized that they were trapped in the mantis's home. Most of them would start crying and begging for mercy, like his last meal for example. Others who are stupid enough thought they could actually take the mantis on. Either way, neither ended well for those insects as Sasori was never the patient type. Sometimes he would get so irritated that he would just kill them off and dump the bodies outside for other insects to feed on.

As Sasori made his way down the hall, he found his thoughts drifting back to when he first laid eyes on that butterfly. The way that kid seemed to glow like orchids bathed in the morning light…it was indeed a breathtaking sight, he had to admit. Sasori didn't take much notice at that time because he was only concentrated on satisfying his hunger – though he ended up eating a wasp which he later caught because she annoyed him.

Sasori felt a sudden urge to see the butterfly once again.

He was curious as to why that butterfly reacted so differently. He'd seen plenty of other butterflies before; attracted by the sweet scent of orchid without realizing the danger they were in. Although the blond was just as stupid as the rest, he was definitely different in some unexplainable way.

Stopping before the door, Sasori held up a finger which began emitting a familiar light blue glow. Blue thread stretched from his fingertip and entered through the small hole in the door. When he heard the sound of the lock being removed, he withdrew his hand and pushed at the heavy door without much effort. The first thing his brown eyes laid upon when the door swung open was the body of the _supposedly _beautiful butterfly lying on the ground.

"Brat." Sasori called as he made his way over to the motionless butterfly.

He gave the body a kick, but the blond didn't respond. With his leg, Sasori pushed at the limp body until the butterfly was flipped onto his back. The mantis eyed his prey's sleeping face, then slowly trailed down to the body and wings that were stained with dirt. It was no wonder why Sasori wasn't able to see the beauty of the blond the last time he was here. The butterfly was filthy. For a moment, Sasori wondered if his prey had already died seeing as it was the first time he kept his food alive for so long. When his eyes caught the rising movement of the insect's chest, his uncertainty was quickly cleared. Sasori crouched down and roughly grabbed the butterfly's wing, not caring if his careless action would hurt the blond more than he was. The first thing Sasori noticed was the unnatural lightness of wing. Not only that, but the wing was also limp like a withered flower petal.

_'Come to think of it…'_ Sasori thought as he glanced down to the butterfly.

When was the last time this brat ate?

He observed the butterfly for a good minute before he pulled away and released the blond's wing.

"Tch." He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

As much as Sasori didn't like this, there was no way he'd eat a corpse. Just the thought of sinking his fangs into a rotting body made him nauseous. The problem is…what was he supposed to do? Naturally he doesn't have any nectar or whatever these butterflies eat and is certainly not desperate enough to waste his precious time gathering any just for a fresh meal.

Then, the mantis suddenly remembered the wasp he had eaten. Going into the living room, Sasori found her clothes and belongings still piled in the corner. It was a good thing he hasn't bothered cleaning up the mess yet. Fumbling through the clothes, Sasori found the same jug he had seen the wasp carried. He shook the container, listening to the sound of the dense liquid moving inside before returning to the room where he kept the half-dead blond.

"…Ah!" The butterfly gasped when a waterfall of nectar slammed into his face.

"About time." Sasori said in his usual uncaring tone as the butterfly coughed and wiped his face with his long sleeve.

"What was that for, un?" The butterfly complained – which was another new thing for the mantis. Now he could be sure that he won't be expecting any of the usual reactions from the immature looking brat.

"If you're awake, hurry and drink the rest of it." Sasori said coldly, shoving the jug of whatever nectar was left at the butterfly.

"Huh?" The butterfly murmured. Even in the dimly lit room, Sasori could clearly see the confusion glazing his eyes. "This is…" he hesitated, "for me?"

"Do I look like I drink nectar?" Sasori snapped impatiently as he pointed out the obvious. Again, the butterfly wasn't the least intimidated by the coldness he put into his voice. What came next caught Sasori completely off guard. The butterfly gently took the container into his arms with a genuine smile spread over his face.

"Thank you, un."

He thanked him.

The butterfly – **_his_** prey that **_he_** captured was thanking **_him_**…?

"I just don't like eating rotting flesh." Sasori quickly said once he shook off the shock. He didn't want the butterfly to get the wrong idea.

The blond didn't seem to care and kept his smile. "Thanks anyways." He said and he took a sip at the sugary water with a bright smile over his lips.

Seeing that blissed look on the butterfly made Sasori wondered what was so good about a jug of sweetened water. It was only a very small bit of curiosity, but it was the first curiosity Sasori had ever felt. He stared at the butterfly for a long while before turning to his hand that was soaked when he dumped a proportion of the nectar onto the blond. He hesitated, but took a quick sniff at the liquid. Although it did smell like flower, it wasn't something he would ever want to take a lick at.

"How did you get this?" Sasori turned his gaze back to the butterfly who was staring back up at him. "I mean," the blond quickly rephrased, "I didn't know mantis could collect nectar, un."

"I didn't." Sasori casually replied. "My previous meal happened to carried it on her."

"Oh." The blond responded. Sasori waited, expecting a bigger reaction to come – but it didn't. The butterfly said nothing more and simply went back to his food so he could fill his body's need.

"…You don't seem the slightest disgusted." Sasori observed the strange calmness on the butterfly. In response to his statement, the blond pulled away with another smile.

"I got a friend who stocks up dead cicadas." The butterfly laughed which made Sasori wondered how he could be so carefree in his situation.

"Whatever." Sasori said, not the least interested in his food's life story. "If you're finished eating, come with me." The butterfly stared at Sasori in curiosity, but didn't question as he licked away the last drop of nectar and followed the mantis out.

As Sasori lead the way, he couldn't help but become aware of each and every little one of the butterfly's movement. Despite the naivety the creature displayed, the blond was proven surprisingly sharp and was cautious enough to keep himself a good distance away. Not too close so he would be in the mantis's reach, but not too far to alert the mantis either. To add to his amusement, that bright smile was wiped from the butterfly, replaced by seriousness that doesn't really suit that flawless face. His blue-bell eyes were darting around as though trying to memorize every nook and corners to the hallway of his home.

_'He isn't as stupid as he seemed.'_ Sasori smirked faintly as he turned back to his path.

The butterfly's eyes shifted to the back of his captor.

_'Is he going to eat me?'_ Deidara's heart tightened at the thought as he glanced back to his still broken wing. His finger twitched at another wave of pain coursing through his body. He stubbornly gritted his teeth and attempted to soothe his ragged breathing.

He wouldn't show it…there was no way he'd show his captor anymore of his weakness than he already has.

Deciding to test his body's function a little, Deidara tried applying force into his right side. Immediately, he choked back a scream as the wound in his side stabbed through his flesh and right into his bones. He bit the inside of his cheek so hard that he could taste his own blood. He couldn't fly and escaping by foot was now out of the question. He could try to fight back, but he had already witnessed the mantis's strength first hand. The mantis was no doubt stronger and faster than him. Even without these injuries, Deidara knew he wasn't a match.

_There was no escape._

Deidara resented his fate.

Why did he even land on that stupid orchid?

Better yet, why did he even go into the forest? He knew how dangerous the forest was compared to the meadow. In the forest, it was all about survival. He heard that even herbivores were exceptional fighters and some could actually be on par with carnivores like spiders. He could remember the time when Kisame first told him his experience of when he was still living in the forest. He claimed to have met a moth who killed off an army of predators with only a single glance at them. No hands, not weapons no nothing. Just the power of the moth's eyes…it was the stupidest thing Deidara had ever heard. Even a larva wouldn't be stupid enough to believe such outrageous lies.

Deidara sighed at the good memory of his dear friends.

_'I wonder if they're looking for me…'_ He thought to himself almost bitterly.

For whatever's wrong with his brain, he even missed that time when the loudmouth dragonfly overstepped the boundary and got them both literally kicked out of Kisame's home by the blue wasp himself.

"Get in." Hearing the mantis speak, Deidara slowly looked up to see the mantis making a gesture to a room.

Deidara tried to swallow the thick lump in his throat, but he couldn't – his throat was completely dried up. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

This was it.

Trading his life just to escape a date from that nature damned Hoverfly…he couldn't decide if it was worth it or not.

For his sake, he hoped it was the former.

"Just make it less painful…un."

* * *

Psaltoda plaga (Orochimaru) – is one of Australia's most familiar insects. Species on which it feeds include weeping willow, river sheoak, rough-barked apple and various eucalypts. They are also preyed upon by the cicada killer wasp. In Chinese folklore, cicadas are symbols of immorality and rebirth.

Cyphochilus (Kabuto) – Is a genus of beetle with an unusually bright white body. The whiteness of its body is caused by a thin layer of a highly reflective natural photonic solid in its scales.

* * *

Edited by Alex-loves-her-Louie =)


	3. Fallow Tunnel

_This is it…_

Deidara's heart pounded heavily.

_This is it…_

He slowly took a step forward.

When Deidara heard the saying of seeing flashbacks before death, he had always thought it to be a joke.

Looking back, he pitifully realized how there was nothing worthwhile in his life to remember. Everything was pitch black…just like the cold, winter's night. The only speck of light he could see within the darkness was the faces of his friends. Even though he only knew them for four cycles*, it was amazing how big of a part they had played in his life.

The butterfly inhaled, about to take another step when a foot suddenly came slamming into his back. With a cry, he tumbled through the door and fell face first into the dirt.

"Get in already." A voice behind him growled impatiently and snapped Deidara back to the real world.

The blond quickly pushed himself up and spat out a mouthful of the bitter dirt. He coughed heavily trying to get the rest out of his system. It was hard to imagine that there are actually insects that can feed on these things.

"Wha-" Deidara choked, "what was that for?"

"You were taking forever, stupid brat." The mantis snarled.

Deidara parted his mouth, about to make a comeback before he took noticed of the room he was in. He blinked at the bright light seeping out of the sunstones that were embedded over the ceiling. When he glanced back down, his eyes rounded in surprise to see that it wasn't a kitchen or a dining room as he was expecting.

Deidara rubbed his eyes.

_'This can't be right.'_

When he opened his eyes again, the scene before him did not change.

The walls of the room were layered with dried pieces of reddish brown leaves and the floor crawling with patterns of plant roots. Before him was a sink, beautifully crafted from balsa wood – one of the typical favourite material insects like to use. There was a closet to his left with dark brown bark slide doors and to his right was a tub, also crafted from balsa wood. The showerhead hung on the wall, seeming to be made from a hollowed root.

"Umm…this is…?" Deidara murmured in confusion as the redhead leaned against the doorway, successfully blocking off the only exit.

"Bathroom." The blond scowled.

"I know that." He retorted. "I meant why did you bring me here?"

"Clean yourself up." The mantis said, well, more like ordered. "You reek."

A large vein popped over the mop of blond hair. Deidara's nails were digging into the soil as he tried his best to resist the urge to punch that flawless face. It was when he glanced down to his outstretched arms did he realized how true the mantis's words are.

His kimono was so dirty that the beautiful blond silk has been dyed brown. His hands were coated with a layer of blackened blood with a mixture of sand and mud. Immediately the butterfly realized where this whole nonsense was going. "If you're going to eat me after I bathed, then why should I–?" Deidara instantly shut his mouth when he noticed the glare the redhead was shooting him. The butterfly's gaze dropped, knowing he has no choice.

"I get it, I get it, un." He murmured and glanced back to the shower head. "I just need a bath right?" He walked over to the tub before taking a glance back to the mantis that has yet to move from his spot.

"…Can you step out, un?"

The mantis shifted those auburn irises to the blond. "Do you want me to wash you or do you prefer doing it yourself?" He spoke in a threatening tone.

"It was only a question." Deidara grumbled lowly so the mantis wouldn't hear. "You didn't have to be a jerk about it, un."

Taking a quick glance back to the predator, he carefully slipped out of his filthy kimono, making sure to avoid touching any of his wounds. He stepped into the wooden tub, but found the space a little cramped because of his broken wing that was slanting to the side. Shifting into a more comfortable position, he turned on the tab, just a little, and watches as a large, palm size bubble of water* gathered from the showerhead.

Deidara reached out his hand, letting the large droplet of water land into his palm. He sighed at the comfortable warmth of the water heated by the sun. As much as he wanted nothing more than to turn the water on all the way and relieve himself from the coat of dirt, he had to watch out for his injuries. There was no doubt the contact with the water would sting and he would much rather avoid adding any more pain. Giving his reflection a quick glance, he ran the bubble of water down his arm, instantly removing all sort of filth stuck on him.

He sighed deeply as he began scrubbing the dirt off his skin. As he worked on his arms, Deidara couldn't help but sneak another peek to the mantis standing (guarding) by the door. The redhead was facing the wall with both eyes gently closed. He was so still that for a moment, Deidara almost thought he saw an orchid.

Then, the mantis's pale hand suddenly twitched and the illusion was shattered.

Waking from his trance, Deidara ran his eyes down to the mantis's hand that was constantly shifting in an uncomfortable gesture. Upon taking a closer look, Deidara noticed the nectar stuck over the predator's skin. Suddenly, an idea came into his mind as Deidara smirked.

_'It's not like I'm gonna live after this anyways…' _He held back a laugh as he reached out to catch another droplet of water that had formed.

If he was going to die, the least he could do was have a last moment of fun, right?

"Hey~" Deidara called sweetly as the mantis shifted. The other didn't reacted right away, but when he realized that the butterfly was calling out to him, he turned only to have a ball of water thrown right into his face.

"You brat!" The mantis sneered, shaking the large droplets of water off as Deidara broke out into a laughter.

"You looked uncomfortable in the nectar so I thought I could help." The butterfly said innocently, but his smirk told the mantis otherwise. In a matter of second, Deidara once again found himself being slammed down, adding more bruises to his already abused back. When he opened his eye, he found the Orchid Mantis hovering over him, not even allowing the littlest space for him to escape.

"You asked for it." The mantis snarled as he grabbed the showerhead.

A stream of water came splashing down, causing the blond to cry out from his throbbing wounds.

"Ow! Hey–!" Deidara raised his arms, desperately trying to stop the flow of the water. "My wound's– Ugh!"

"Stay still." He heard the mantis growled as cool fingers began roughly scratching the mud off his cheek. The butterfly didn't listen and just kept struggling. With the force the mantis was putting, he wouldn't be surprise if he wakes up next morning to find his face deformed – that is, if he can even live to tomorrow.

"AH!" Deidara yelped when he felt the mantis's nails digging into his skin. "I said wai– that hurts!" Deidara complained but the hand kept working at his face and eventually scraping his hair. His healthy wing flapped wildly from his struggles, only to be roughly nailed down by the mantis's foot.

"If you stop thrashing around it'll be less painful, brat." The mantis said indifferently, and Deidara listened. There wasn't much of a choice. He ceased his struggles and true to his word, the mantis began using lesser force. Though he still wasn't anywhere near gentle, at least the pain died down a lot. His wounds were beginning to feel a little better too, after getting use to the water.

"Are all Orchid Mantises mean like you, Danna?" Deidara murmured as he felt the mantis scratching the mud from behind his neck.

"What did you call me?" The mantis asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.

The butterfly flinched as though he just realized what had slipped from his mouth. "Oh…that's just a habit of how I address others, un. Besides, I don't know your name– Ah!" He was cut off with a yelped when the side of the mantis's leg pushed into his wound. At his wince, the mantis stopped, pulling back and for the first time got a clear view of the butterfly's body. Deidara gave the mantis a weird look when he noticed how stiff the other had become.

"Hey…?" Deidara murmured, but the mantis didn't move. He stared into his prey's eyes for a long while before he suddenly dropped the showerhead. Lost in trance by the predator's eyes, Deidara failed to notice the showerhead coming at him until it was too late.

"Ow!" He winced and quickly held a hand over his reddening forehead. When he opened his eyes, he found himself staring straight up to the ceiling.

The mantis was gone.

"There are some clothes in the closet, wear it after you're done." Deidara heard the redhead's voice echoed from the other side of the room, followed by the loud slamming sound of the door.

With a push of his elbows, the butterfly slowly and carefully pulled himself up. He grasped the edge of the tub for support. It was only after taking a long glance around the empty bathroom did his mind registered the fact that the mantis really left.

"…What was that about?" He wondered out loud.

He thought back to the look the mantis had when he froze, but his mind began drifting further, back to when he was being rudely washed like some old laundry. The mantis was a jerk. That was Deidara's first impression but at the memory of how the redhead kept his word and went gentler in his scrubbing, he wasn't so sure anymore.

"Maybe he isn't so bad, un."

After managing to rinse the last bit of dirt from his wings, Deidara stepped out of the tub and shook off the large droplets of water with ease. He frowned when he felt the soggy heaviness in his wings, but shrugged it off. It wasn't like he could fly anyways.

Running his eyes around the bathroom, he quickly found the closet and opened it to reveal a set of the mantis's robes. They were all in that flowery style similar to the one his captor wore, only different in the value of red and patterns. Randomly picking one out, Deidara proceeded to put it on when he realized a problem.

His wings.

The slit in the robe for the wings were too small to fit Deidara's. The blond glanced around for anything he could use. When he found none, Deidara decided to use his bare hands. He tore at the robe and was surprise to find it stronger than he had thought. After many attempts, Deidara finally managed to make the hole wide enough for his wings to slide through.

_'It's so soft._' He thought as he gently rubbed the fabric. The robe was large, but surprisingly comfortable and easy to move in. Feeling refreshed, Deidara couldn't help but let a smile cross his lips.

"…About time." The mantis's impatient voice snapped when Deidara stepped out of the bathroom.

"You're not very patient are you?" Deidara frowned, discovering a new trait of the mantis.

"Not when I have to be kept waiting." The mantis replied, not even bothering to take a glance at his prey as he turned and began walking down the hall. Deidara quickly followed, knowing better than to disobey especially when the mantis seemed pissed enough as it is. When Deidara saw the direction they were heading to, he immediately recognized it as the path back to that empty little room.

"Hey, Danna." Deidara quickly tried to make a conversation as they walked. The mantis didn't reply, but Deidara knew he was listening. "When are you going to eat me?" Seeming caught off guard by the question, the mantis turned to give him a quick glance before turning away.

"Tomorrow." The mantis gave out a short, simple reply that sort of reminded him of Itachi.

"Not today?"

"Do you prefer I eat you today?"

"No, un." Deidara hastily replied with a shook of his head. "Then…can I not go back into that room?"

The Orchid Mantis continued walking as though he did not hear the blonde's request.

"I won't run away– rather, I can't run with this wound and it's not like I can fly either." Deidara pointed over his shoulder to his damaged wing. "Please Danna. I only have one day, un."

When Deidara still didn't get a word out of quiet predator, he sighed in defeat. His shoulder slumped when he saw the narrow wooden door just down the hallway. Arriving in front of the door, Deidara reluctantly pulled himself to a stop. He glanced up, expecting the mantis to do the same, but he didn't.

His captor walked by the door – not even seeming to acknowledging its existence.

Hurriedly following after the mantis, Deidara looked over his shoulder at the door fading down the dark hallway. His blue-bell eyes gleamed with a hopeful look spread across his face.

"Don't get it wrong." The mantis broke through the silence as though knowing what kind of face the butterfly was making. "I merely don't want my food rolling on the ground after finally cleaning up." He said as he stopped before a larger door.

When he pushed the door open, Deidara's eye widened at the large, nicely decorated room. The ground was covered with a heavy layer of cotton that almost resembles clouds. It got everything, closet, shelves, and a large table in the corner accompanied by a chair. At the far side of the room was a large bed made purely out of the downs feathers of **bird**. It was the first time the butterfly had ever seen a bed made with such material. Although it gave off an eerie vibe, it seemed so amazingly soft that it could put cotton and even silkworm's silk to shame.

Just when Deidara was about to make comments to the place, the mantis beat him to it and spoke first.

"This is my room."

"…Huh?" The blond turned to the mantis, then back to the room. "You don't mean…" He trailed off as the mantis held up a finger. Following the direction he was pointing to, Deidara soon found himself staring at a lonely looking corner.

"You didn't think I'd let you out of my sight, did you?"

"Well, no but–"

"Got any problem?" The mantis questioned, his sharp eyes snapping almost murderously to the butterfly that sweated and furiously shook his head.

"Of course not!" Deidara said with a forced smile. He glanced around the room again before slowly turning back to the mantis.

"Umm…do you perhaps um have…you know…petals–?" Deidara hesitantly asked. When he caught the look the mantis was giving him, Deidara immediately waved his hands in front of him. "–No, nothing!" Deidara hurriedly said before the other could speak.

"Umm, thanks, Danna!"

"…Sasori."

"Eh?" Deidara turned to the mantis, failing to catch what he had just said.

"The name is Sasori. Quit the _Danna_. It's annoying." The mantis, Sasori, ordered.

Deidara stared at the predator before a wide smile made its way over his lips.

"Then Sasori no Danna it is."

"Shut it, brat."

"It's not _brat_." Deidara huffed as he crossed his arms. "It's Deidara, Sasori-danna."

* * *

Cycle – In here, a cycle indicates a year. It means the passing of all four seasons.

Bubble of water – Although the story is a fantasy, the scale of the characters are kept to insect size. Water molecules are held together by hydrogen bonds. The hydrogen bond is weak electrical attraction between polar molecules. The larger the mass of the water, the weaker the attraction. The smaller the mass, the stronger the attraction becomes. So in insect size, a palm size water droplet has very strong attraction that allows the water to be easily held without the molecules breaking apart.

* * *

Edited by Alex-loves-her-Louie =)


	4. Bistre Void

Beta'd by Chillybean =)

* * *

_"Eww. Look at his wings."_

_The once lively air faded to silence, replaced by low whispers._

_"So disgusting…what is that?"_

_Deidara rushed through the tall patches of grass._

_"Is he really a male?"_

_Skeptical and judgemental eyes burned holes through his gold and blue wings._

_"Gross…"_

_Freak._

_Disgusting. _

_Go away._

_Don't come near us._

_Disgusting. _

_Don't touch me._

_Disgusting. _

_Disgusting. _

**_Disgusting._**

"Ah!" Deidara gasped as his eyes snapped open to face the dimly lit room. He panted heavily while cold sweat seeped out of his pores and soaked the mantis' crimson robe. Deidara rolled onto his back, staring up to the ceiling that now had a curtain of leaves pulled over to block the light of the sunstones. Deidara lay still, his heavy breathing filling the silence. With his still trembling hands, he pulled himself from the cotton floor and leaned against the cramped corner. His bluebell eye nervously scanned the darkness until it rested on the feather bed at the far side of the room.

"Da–" Deidara choked, realizing how dry his throat was. He coughed a little and swallowed some saliva to prevent his throat from sticking together. "Danna…?" He tried again, his voice so soft that it was barely beyond a whisper. He stared at the mop of red hair that was illuminated against the snow-white down feathers.

"Danna." He tried again, but the redhead didn't answer. There wasn't even a shift in the supple bed.

"Sasori no Danna."

Again, no response.

As quietly as possible and with the wall as support, Deidara slowly pulled himself to his feet. Just when he was about to take a step, Sasori's voice suddenly sliced through the silence.

"Take another step and I'll kill you."

Deidara froze on the spot, staring at Sasori for a while before straightening himself. "If you're awake you should have said so." He sighed and absent-mindedly took a step to balance himself. That instant, blue threads shot towards him and attached themselves onto the unsuspecting butterfly, who gasped in surprise. The silhouette of a hand shot out from the pile of feathers. With a quick wave, the blond felt an unseen force tug at his body. Before he knew it, he was flying towards the feather bed…towards Sasori.

Then everything stopped.

The air that was slicing through his skin disappeared with the abrupt halt of his body.

The butterfly was silent, his eyes crossed as he stared at the glowing blue blade pointing between his eyes. His hair fluttered in the momentary breeze as his feet took root upon the cotton layered ground. A trickle of warm liquid slid by his nose, filling his nostrils with the disgusting, coppery scent of blood. If he hadn't stopped in time, his head would have no doubt been split in half.

"Go back to your corner. There won't be a second chance." Sasori hissed and the invisible binding on Deidara's body disappeared. The butterfly watched with mild interest as the blade scattered into the same blue threads and slowly retracted back into Sasori's hand. He had heard about mantis' ability, but seeing it first hand was really something else.

The redhead turned, not giving Deidara another glance as he settled back into his bed.

"That's not it…" Deidara murmured as he stared at the back of Sasori's head.

"Danna…can I…?" There was hesitation in his voice as his face twisted in slight embarrassment. For a moment, the blond thought about quietly obeying the red haired mantis. That is, until he saw the dark shadows lingering over his little corner.

_Disgusting._

That cold, ghostly voice whispered from somewhere deep inside his mind. He stared down at his feet as he shifted a finger length closer towards the mantis.

"Can I sleep with you?"

There was a slightly awkward silence as Sasori stared at the wall, stupefied.

"I don't mean it in a strange way, un!" Deidara quickly said in defense when he too realized how his question could be interpreted the wrong way. Sasori narrowed his auburn eyes upon the sound of the butterfly's frantic movement of arms and his good wing.

"I just…I…un…" Deidara groaned at how he couldn't find the right word. With a sigh, he relaxed his tense muscles, his wing drooping down while his arms hung limply at his sides. "I've always slept on a flower. I've never slept anywhere else before so, I can't sleep."

"Didn't you sleep on the floor for the first two suns?" The mantis retorted curtly, never once looking back at the blond.

"I didn't exactly fall asleep…un." Deidara murmured as he was reminded of fainting from the unbearable hunger.

"And what?" Sasori spoke coldly. "You can't sleep in a corner but you can sleep next to your enemy?"

The butterfly didn't falter with his response. "Only because Sasori no Danna reminds me of a flower."

Sasori felt himself freeze at the comment. Never before had anyone told him (or have the guts to) such things, so he didn't know how to react.

"Sleeping away from a flower makes me feel a little insecure, un. Please, Danna?" The butterfly urged on as Sasori shifted away from Deidara.

"No." The mantis replied without sparing a second of thought.

"Sasori no da–"

"I said **no**, you damn brat." Sasori snapped his head back in attempt to scare the blond away with his glare. But when his eyes landed on the butterfly, he realized for the first time how awful the creature looked.

He didn't know if the dimness of the room was playing tricks on his eyes, but the butterfly's peach-tan face was ghostly pale. If possible, the bags under the blond's eyes were darker than before, an indication of his lack of sleep.

Sasori nested himself back into the bed and turned his back to the butterfly. _'Nightmare…huh?'_ Sasori thought to himself, remembering the soft winces and pained moans the butterfly was releasing ever since he fell asleep.

Sighing softly in defeat, Deidara nervously glanced back to his little corner.

He dragged his feet back, sparing one last glance at the redhead before he settled back down. Deidara hugged his knees and buried his face in his arms.

**_Disgusting._**

The blond cringed. He tried in vain to replay some – any – happy memories within his mind. It ended in failure.

"Brat." Sasori's voice suddenly called from the other side of the room. "Get over here."

Deidara pulled his head up, not even bothering to hide his stunned expression. He stared at the mantis buried deep within the feather, unmoving. Just when Deidara decided it was only his imagination that the mantis had called out to him, the voice returned with irritation and impatience.

"I said _get over here_, damn brat."

Deidara didn't need to be told thrice, quickly jumped to his feet and arrived by Sasori's bed in a heartbeat. The mantis parted his eyelids to reveal his honey brown eyes. Taking a swift glance at the swallowtail butterfly, he lifted a hand and pointed sharply to the ground. Bluebell eyes followed the pale finger to ground, then back just in time to catch a quick glimpse of the mantis' plain expression as he turned to his side and snuggled deeper into the feathers.

Deidara frowned, glancing back to Sasori who was clearly through with him.

_'I guess it's better than nothing…'_ Deidara told himself as he slowly lied down. He glanced over the darkness, then to the feather bed that was only an arm's length away. Deidara stretched his neck just to catch a glimpse of the strands of red mixed with white.

He edged closer just a little.

The red strands of hair showed no movement, and Deidara edged closer again. He repeated this action, getting braver and braver each time. The butterfly froze when he felt the soft feathers brush against his face. Deidara quickly glanced up, but couldn't see anything due to height of the mantis' bed. He lay there for a good five minutes before he was sure he was still in the safe zone.

Deidara stared at the white down feathers, leaning over a little to let them caress his face again. _'It's softer than it looked.'_ Deidara thought in amazement. If it felt this soft just touching it, he wondered how it would feel sleeping in it. However, knowing better than to push his luck, Deidara sank into the cottony floor.

"Thank you, Danna un." Deidara muttered before he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

In the bed, Sasori lay awake, his eyes boring into the leaf-covered ceiling.

_Thank you._

Sasori's gaze fell.

To think the first time someone would ever say those words would be his own prey. "How ironic." He muttered softly to himself. Deciding that he had wasted more then enough of his precious time, the mantis closed his eyes to rest, joining the butterfly in the silent darkness.

Outside in the land bathed by moonlight, the air was filled by songs of night insects and the melody of nature.

The song lasted through the night until dawn broke. The moon dwellers retired to their homes after finishing another night. The insects' melody slowly faded away, replaced by the chirping songs of birds.

**"SASORI-SENPAI!" **

For the sun dwellers, it was a beginning of a new day.

"What was that?" Deidara whispered, woken from the sudden chill that crawled down his spine. He glanced around the room that was still dim due to the coverings over the sunstones.

Something doesn't feel right.

Something was definitely wrong.

Deidara rubbed at the goose bumps growing beneath the robe's long sleeve.

Glancing around nervously, Deidara scrambled to his feet and edged closer to the feather bed.

"Danna?" Deidara called hesitantly, earning an irritated groan from somewhere within the sea of feathers. The butterfly looked around, wondering where the mantis was when the door to the bedroom was knocked down in a thundering slam.

**"SASORI-SENPAI~!" **An extremely loud scream suddenly tore through Deidara's eardrums, stunning him as the creature took its chance to glomp him from behind.

"Ah!" The butterfly cried out from the pain of having his wounds forcibly squeezed in the suffocating embrace. The force of the tackle knocked him off his feet, making him fall face first into the feather bed with the intruder clutching onto his back. Deidara also heard a grunt of a familiar voice, but he couldn't care about that as he quickly began to struggle.

"Ugh! What are you–Ah! Let go!" Deidara shouted out in pain as he desperately tried to pry the arms off him.

Immediately upon hearing the blond's voice, the insect that was gripping him stopped all movement.

"Huh?" Deidara heard a confused voice from behind him. Before any of them could make any move, Deidara felt something beneath him shifted. A second later, Sasori shot out of the feathers beneath where Deidara lay, reaching a hand around the blond to grab hold of the intruder.

"Tobi!" Sasori snarled. Brown eyes were glaring daggers at Tobi – said creature screaming in pain from the tightness of the mantis' grip. With a thrust of the mantis' strong arm, Deidara gasped in relieve as the arms were ripped from his back. He inhaled deeply, closing his eyes as he waited for the pain to subside.

"Oww!" Deidara heard Tobi whine from a great distance. "What was that for, senpai?"

Carefully pushing himself up a little, Deidara turned to see exactly what had suddenly attacked him. When his eyes landed on a raven haired insect sitting on the broken door, his eyes rounded and his irises shrunk so much that the blue hues were compressed to black.

That spiral pattern on the mask and that scarf, there was no mistake. Those are the trademark of a…

"A…" Deidara choked as he felt his mouth drying at the sight before him. "A **spider**!"

It wasn't just any spider.

Raven hair with black scarf and brightly coloured orange mask…it was a Hadronyche formidabilis*.

Deidara felt faint.

His brain kicked into gear and so many questions flooded his mind. But before Deidara could add anymore to the list, the spider spoke with a shaky voice.

"Sa-Sasori-senpai…?"

Deidara blinked. He didn't know if he heard wrong, but the Funnel-Web spider sounded…scared?

Deidara looked over his shoulder and sure enough, the predator was quivering with a finger hovering in the air, pointing at their direction. Then, the spider suddenly screamed. Startled, Deidara flinched and unconsciously clenched onto the warmth he was unknowingly leaning against.

**"N-N-N-NAGATO-SENPAI!"** The spider screamed, quickly struggling to his legs as another insect stepped out from behind the door frame.

"Don't yell, To–" The ghostly pale male with crimson hair that had entered fell into a deep silence.

If possible, Deidara paled even more, feeling his stomach twist with unease.

He recognized those eyes.

Ripple pattern over the eyeballs with light purple irises and sclera…

It was just like how they had described in stories parents scare their larva with when they did something bad. Cold hearted predators driven by the thirst for blood at birth, having the ability to kill even bats.

_'Assassin Bug*.'_ Deidara swallowed.

"Sorry, Sasori." The Assassin Bug spoke in a deep voice and let his sharp gaze drift to the Orchid Mantis. "We didn't know you were busy. Don't mind us, carry on." The scarlet haired Assassin Bug said politely before grabbing the long black scarf of the spider.

"Come on, Tobi."

"B-But Sasori-senpai is…! **THAT **Sasori-senpai is–!" Tobi's voice faded as they disappeared behind the door.

Deidara stared at the doorway, dumbfounded.

"What was that about?" He murmured, looking back only to come face to face with Sasori, their nose grazing each other. Gasping in shock, he quickly pulled back to find that he had been lying on the redhead's chest all along.

It didn't take the two long for them to realize just what misunderstanding the two intruders had.

* * *

Hadronyche formidabilis (Tobi) – Also known as Tree-Dwelling Funnel-Web. This species builds a burrow in a decaying tree trunk or fence post. The body of the spider is glossy in nature with a color of either black or brown. Unlike other spider species, the male Tree-dwelling Funnel-web spider is the killer. It has venom five times as deadly as the female and extremely lethal to humans. It is extremely aggressive. When threatened, the spider stands up on its hind legs and exposes its fangs.

Assassin Bug (Nagato) – Are also known as Kissing Bugs due to their habit of biting humans in their sleep on the soft tissue of the lips and eyes. Assassin bugs hunts use piercing, sucking mouthparts to feed. It injects lethal saliva that liquefies the insides of the prey, which are then sucked out. Adult Assassin Bugs that lives in caves are known to have killed bats.

* * *

Special thanks to Chillybean who has kindly offered to be my beta reader and spared some of her precious her time editing and re-editing this chapter! ^-^


	5. Ebony Guests

"So that was it!" The orange masked Funnel-Web spider laughed loudly in relief. "That scared me! For a second I thought Sasori-senpai was–"

"Was _what_?" Sasori growled, daring the spider to finish. At the cold scowl from the mantis, the spider yelped and quickly ran behind his red haired companion.

"Calm yourself Sasori." The Assassin Bug said calmly with barely any change of expressions on his stoic face. "You can't blame us for misunderstanding. It's not every day we see you sleeping with your catch."

Said catch cowered when Nagato's ringed eyes shifted to him. Fidgeting uncomfortably, the blond edged closer to Sasori as though seeking for protection. Nagato could see those beautiful, large aureolin wings quivering lightly with nervousness at being in their presence. The reaction was natural, one that Nagato could even say the butterfly was taking rather remarkably seeing as he hasn't faint yet. However, the fact that this food didn't dare to go near them and appeared to feel safe around his captor was definitely a first.

The Assassin Bug leaned back into his chair.

Whatever had happened, it was clear that Sasori didn't think of the butterfly as simply food – whether the mantis himself was aware of it or not.

"Butterfly."

The blond jumped, quickly looking around before realizing that he was being called.

"What is your name?"

The butterfly blinked, obviously not expecting his name to be of any importance to them.

"It's Deidara, un." He replied rather calmly, despite his wariness of them.

"I'm Nagato and this," Nagato grabbed the spider who cheerfully waved his arms around. "Tobi!" The spider cheered happily. "Nice to meet you, Deidara-senpai!"

_'Senpai?_' Deidara blinked, relaxing somewhat as he studied the spider, noticing that Tobi was behaving like a larva seeing the world for the first time. He always thought spiders were supposed to be the cold blooded, emotionless type of insects because of their masks. But never, in Deidara's dreams, did he imagine a spider to be acting like…like **this**.

"Tobi came to visit Sasori-senpai because Tobi is a good boy!" The spider stood tall, as though it was something to be proud of.

The spider race would weep at the sight of this.

"Then why don't you be a good boy and get out of my home?" Sasori hissed at the two. Deidara could tell that his captor's mood was definitely not going to improve anytime soon.

"Relax, Sasori." Nagato said coolly as he gestured to the empty seats around the table at the center of the room. Deidara held back the urge to laugh at how Nagato was a much better host than the owner of the place. When he saw how the mantis had no intention of listening, he brushed it off and took a seat with the hyper active spider beside him.

"Why are you here?'

"We came to warn you." Nagato replied. "We heard news that Orochimaru will be coming to the meadow nearby–"

"Orochimaru?" Deidara's gasp echoed. At his voice, both Nagato and Sasori turned. Before either of them could question the butterfly's reaction, Tobi leaped out of his seat and shoved his masked face into Sasori's own.

"Yeah! You have to be careful, Sasori-senpai! He might be after you again!"

"Deidara." Sasori grabbed the messy raven locks none too gently and forced the spider's head away to clear his view. "You know Orochimaru?"

Deidara stared at his danna, stunned that the mantis had actually called him by his name. "Uh…" Deidara mumbled before he quickly remembered the redhead's question. "Yeah!" He yelped, a light blush dusting over his cheek when he realized how high his voice sounded. He quickly gathered himself and cleared his throat to steady his voice. "Yes. W-well, kind of, un."

"How do you know him?" Nagato questioned, curiosity burning in his eerie eyes.

"No, I don't know him personality." Deidara waved his hands in front of him. "It's my friend, un."

"Your friend is an acquaintance of Orochimaru?" Sasori questioned feverishly. Deidara shifted under the mantis' intense gaze.

"Of course not!" Deidara scowled, forgetting his previous nervousness. "That bastard tried to take him by force!" A moment of silence engulfed them before Deidara muttered, "So I was told, un."

"Then your friend must be quite the beauty." Nagato chuckled. When he noticed the confusion over Deidara's face, he decided to explain. "Orochimaru loves to collect beautiful creatures. As long as they're beautiful, he will use any method he can to get his hand on them. Sasori was previously one of his targets."

"Danna?" Deidara gaped and turned to face the mantis.

At how the butterfly had addressed the mantis, Tobi instantly choked on the water he was drinking*. If Deidara didn't know better, the spider must have spat out some judging by the liquid dribbling down from behind his mask.

Nagato's smirk that was hidden behind his palm grew in size. _'Danna, huh?'_ The Assassin Bug thought as he patted Tobi's back with his free hand to calm the choking spider.

"That was a long time ago." To Nagato's further amusement, Sasori actually replied.

"…You don't seem surprise at hearing that Orochimaru is coming to visit." Nagato noted at how the mantis didn't even react at the sound of the name. At that, Sasori snorted.

"Perhaps I would have if you'd come _before_ the cicada's visit."

"EEH? He came already?" Tobi exclaimed. "Then we came here for nothing!"

"And then?" Nagato grabbed Tobi by the scarf and pulled the spider back into the chair. "Do you know why he came?"

"I don't see how it's any of your business." Sasori replied coldly.

"Say…" Deidara gasped when realization slapped him across the face. "You don't think Orochimaru is after my friend do you?" He panicked as he quickly glanced around the three predators for answer.

"Perhaps…" Nagato replied thoughtfully while Sasori leaned against the wall, his lips pressed in a thin line that showed no indication of him responding. "Who did you say that friend of yours was?"

"Itachi, un." The butterfly replied automatically. The minute he spilled the moth's name, he fell into a silent gasp as his hand flew to his lips. He wasn't supposed to say that. He had just mentioned Itachi's name…and right in front of three predators.

"Itachi? The Scarlet Tiger Moth?"

Deidara blinked upon Sasori's question.

"Well then, if it's Itachi you don't need to worry." Nagato chuckled, showing his first, genuine emotion.

"Itachi-senpai!" Tobi jumped up and down in his seat at the name. "I haven't seen him in a long time! How is he?"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Deidara shouted as he finally managed to silence the spider. "You guys know Itachi?" For his response, Sasori merely gave his prey a look as if asking Deidara if he was serious about his question.

"Itachi is well-known for his beauty by the insects living beneath the moon." Nagato replied. At that, Deidara's eyes widened in shock. No one had ever mentioned that to him.

"You're a sun dweller. I guess it's no surprise you don't know about the world under the moonlight. Itachi never told you much about himself, did he?" The butterfly flinched when the Assassin Bug spoke. If Deidara didn't know any better, he'd say that the blood sucker could read mind.

"Brat." The mantis finally spoke. "How do you know Itachi?"

"Yes. I'm interested as well." Nagato joined in. "You obviously have no experience in the night and Itachi has a condition where he cannot go into the sunlight. It seem unlikely that you two would meet."

_'They know Itachi can't stand sunlight…'_ The butterfly thought quietly. If they know that much, then it must be true when they said they know Itachi.

"My friends– rather, my dragonfly friend's boyfriend knows Itachi."

"Dragonfly?" Now it was Sasori's turn to show interest in the blond's story. "You're friends with a dragonfly?"

"Don't dragonflies eat butterflies?" Tobi gasped as Deidara gave him a weird look.

"I could say the same to you. Don't Assassin Bugs eat spiders, un?" He questioned back with his arms crossed accusingly over his chest. At that, Tobi screamed in shock before turning to Nagato who sighed in annoyance, as though already predicting what would come.

"NAGATO-SENPAI, YOU EAT SPIDERS?" He cried out in fright as Sasori murmured something beneath his breath; no doubt about how stupid the spider was.

"Tobi, quiet down." Nagato said, making minimal effort to calm the panicking spider.

"That dragonfly's mate," Sasori murmured as Deidara turned to his danna, "Is he a Stick-bug?"

"Yeah…how did you know, Danna?" Deidara whispered as his eyes bulged.

"We grew up together, with Itachi as well." Sasori replied as though it wasn't a big deal, ignoring the gaping blond.

"So you mean you guys are childhood friends?" Deidara glanced around the three predators.

"That's one way to put it." Nagato said with a faint, knowing smile.

It was amazing how small the world was.

Deidara didn't know how it began, but soon they began talking about their mutual friends. If there was one thing that can make the butterfly's day, it was definitely his precious friends. Sasori leaned against the wall as he watched Deidara who, at some point, had taken a seat. The blond seemed to have completely forgotten who he was actually talking to.

Tobi, after recovering from his little shock, was now wrapped up in stories of Kakuzu and Itachi. Nagato listened attentively with his chin resting in his palm. Though the Assassin Bug usually acted as though he didn't care, Sasori knew he was always worried about the well-being of Kakuzu and Itachi after they'd left.

The mantis himself doesn't really care much for his two old comrades. Itachi, like him, preferred to be alone while Kakuzu was never one to be bound in place and given orders. They left the minute they were strong and old enough to take care of themselves.

"So the reason Itachi can't go into the sun is because his eyes are sensitive to light?"

Sasori glanced up to see Nagato replying with a faint nod of his head. He then turned to Deidara who was practically leaning over the table at the news. If he thought Deidara was weird before, the blond had exceeded his old self. What stupid insect that was at the bottom of the food chain would choose to socializes with predators?

"That is all I can say. If Itachi wanted you to know, he would tell you himself." Deidara's smiled immediately drop upon that. "Umm…yeah. Right." He murmured, his wings drooping behind him.

Sasori instantly knew what had flashed through the butterfly's mind. So perhaps he didn't forget his situation as much as the mantis thought he had. When he heard a hum emitting from Nagato, he glanced up to catch sight of those ringed eyes directed towards him.

The mantis' hazel eyes shifted to the butterfly's back. Mouthing an inaudible _"Mind your own business"_, Sasori turned and left his food in the company of the two blood suckers.

When the butterfly heard the soft click of the door, he turned, only to see the Orchid Mantis gone from his spot.

_'Danna?'_ Deidara called out to the mantis quietly within his mind, wondering where the mantis was going. However, his thoughts were quickly disturbed when an arm was suddenly thrown over his shoulders.

"Deidara-senpai! You're not listening!" Came Tobi's whine and immediately, Deidara felt goose bumps crawling over his skin.

"AH!" He shouted as he quickly spun around and kicked Tobi over the head, sending him crashing into the other side of the wall. Before Deidara could even catch his breath, he collapsed from the pulsing pain of his injuries.

"Don't like physical contact much, do you?" Nagato asked apathetically as he sips on his cup of water.

Deidara instantly paled when he realized what he had done. "N-No…that's not…" He tried to come up with an excuse for his action, but couldn't think of anything other than being utterly disgusted being touched by the creature. Sure the butterfly was warming up to them, but still…being touched by touched by a creature he grew up to be disgusted of was a bit…

"I'm sorry, un."

"There's no need to worry. He's used to it."

Deidara instantly sweat dropped as he turned with a dull gaze to Tobi who was slowly sliding off the crater in the wall.

_'Used to it?'_ He repeated those three words as he watched gravity finally succeed in yanking the spider from the wall and to the ground.

* * *

Drinking water – Spiders and Assassin Bugs can become dehydrated quickly if they don't get enough moisture from their prey. Assassin Bugs drinks water from sponge. Spiders also drinks but some breed absorbs water through their body. I will just be having the characters drink normally as absorbing water through their skin would seem a little weird, even for a fantasy fiction.

* * *

Beta'd by Chillybean =)

I'm very sorry for taking so long to update. Due to some circumstances I wasn't able to get on the computer much. I will try my best to be quick with the next update. Hope everyone enjoys this chapter and thank Chillybean once again for betaing this chapter~!


	6. Coral Dawn

_Beta'd by Chillybean_

* * *

"Sasori, you better treat Deidara nicely." Nagato said as he stood in the threshold. "Seeing as he is a friend of Itachi's and Kakuzu's, I simply can't allow you to devour him."

Sasori leaned against the orchid stem wearing an uncaring expression on his face.

"What!" Tobi gasped as he took a step back dramatically. "Sasori-senpai still plans on eating Deidara-senpai even though he's a friend?"

"He's not a friend." Sasori sneered. He then turned to Nagato, his sharp brown gaze meeting with the Assassin Bug's for a brief second before his uninvited guest turned and strolled away.

"Ah! Nagato-senpai! Wait for me!" Tobi shouted, hurrying after Nagato as the two disappeared into the shadows cast by the moonlight.

Returning to his underground home, Sasori headed back into the living room where the butterfly sat with his head down on the table.

"Hey brat." Sasori called as stalked over to the butterfly, but there was no respond. The mantis stared at his prey, debating whether to leave him there or beat him back to his senses. He quelled his decision making when a soft grumbling noise was emitted from the butterfly's stomach.

He cursed deeply in the back of his mind as he gathered the blond into his arms, taking care as to not crush his wings. At the touch, Deidara unconsciously leaned into Sasori, seeking for more of his warmth. The red-head glanced down at the butterfly sleeping soundlessly in his arms, completely unaware of his own surroundings. When Sasori took a step, the movement made Deidara's head roll off the mantis' shoulder, his golden hair falling away to expose his delicate neck to the predator.

A flash of unreadable emotion flickered across the pair of honey brown eyes.

Sasori slowly leaned down until his lips brushed against the delicious flesh. A sudden wave of thirst that he never felt before suddenly overwhelmed him. He knew better, but he couldn't control himself. Never before had he ever felt such a strong hunger, even when he hadn't eaten for a week straight. The sweet scent of the blond in his arms was driving him insane. The Orchid Mantis parted his lips to reveal his sharp fangs. He leaned down a bit more, letting his fangs graze the butterfly's soft skin.

He could devour him right here, right now.

He honestly didn't care what Itachi, Kakuzu or Nagato would think or do. If they wanted someone to blame, then blame the brat for his stupidity.

~0~

In the deep recesses of forest, Nagato and Tobi were walking idly through the tall patches of grass.

"Nagato-senpai! When can we visit Deidara-senpai again?" Tobi shouted. He skipped a little to keep up with the speedy Assassin Bug as they walked beneath the moonlit night.

"Tobi." Nagato said calmly as his ringed eyes focused on the path before them. "Whatever you saw today, keep it in your heart. Don't tell a single soul and don't mention that name until I said so."

"Why?" Tobi asked, dropping back into a walk as he kept pace with Nagato.

"A game, Tobi." Nagato replied, knowing that the other's eyes must be beaming at the mention of that magical word. "Sasori together with a butterfly, could you imagine what faces he would make if the others were to find out?"

"Eh?" Tobi gasped in shock. "Sasori-senpai and Dei-?" Tobi immediately slipped his hands beneath his mask to shut himself when Nagato gave him a hard look. Remembering how he wasn't supposed to mention that name, Tobi swallowed. "T-They're really together?"

At the spider's question, Nagato couldn't help but feel a little doubt prickling his inside. Deidara and Sasori were comfortable with each other, that he was sure of. However, it was the mantis that really worried him. For as long as he knew the other redhead, he had always been anti-social and, like any good predators, killed in cold blood. For creatures like them, they tend to lack knowledge of many different emotions that weren't needed in their daily lives.

He could only hope that Sasori wouldn't mistake his desire for hunger.

"Time will tell." Nagato replied after coming out of his thoughts. "That's why it will be our secret for now. That way we'll have something to threaten Sasori with. Won't this be fun?"

"Threaten? Sasori-senpai?" Tobi whispered before the gears in his head began to turn. Suddenly shouting in joy, Tobi began dancing around Nagato – who of which heaved out a tired sigh.

"Nagato! Tobi!" A female's voice suddenly yelled. Nagato glanced up to see a familiar purple haired insect with large, greenish wings coming into view.

"Ah! It's Konan!" Tobi cheered and happily waved his hands over his head. "Konan!" He shouted as the Actias artemis* flew closer and closer.

"Remember, Tobi." Nagato whispered beneath his breath, low enough so only the excited spider could hear.

"Of course, senpai!" Tobi laughed. "Tobi is a good boy!"

As the night slowly passed, the sky gradually began to lighten.

~0~

In the meadow away from the darkness of the forest, dozens of fireflies light were seen dancing around a lake. At the flowerbed not far away, four insects gathered, each of them sitting upon an individual flower as they exchanged glances.

"Damn it!" The silver-haired dragonfly shouted as he furiously scratched his head. "It's been four fucking moons now and that damn blondie's nowhere to be seen!"

"Calm down, Hidan." The stick-bug spoke in a tone that was calm and void of emotion. "You're making a scene."

"Making a scene?" Hidan shouted, turning to his mate in disbelieve. "Deidara's fucking gone and you're worried about me making a stupid fucking scene?"

"Hidan, Kakuzu's right." The Cicada Killer Wasp spoke. "We have enough trouble on our hands. We don't need to draw unwanted attention."

Hidan looked as though he was about to complain, but shut his mouth when he noticed the look the scarlet moth was giving him. With a click of his tongue, Hidan sat back on his flower.

"So no one's got a fucking clue about his whereabouts?"

"Zabuza and Haku, along with the brat, are keeping an eye out, but so far there's nothing." Kisame replied, glancing around the small group before looking at Kakuzu.

"Konan and Yahiko are still searching." Kakuzu replied before his gaze trailed to the wasp's mate who was sitting upon a yellow rose.

"However, they did give me some interesting information."

"What? They found Deidara?" Hidan quickly asked, earning an annoyed gaze from the stick bug. "I told you that they are still searching, Hidan." Kakuzu said before turning back to the pair before him.

"It would seem Orochimaru has come to the meadow."

"Orochimaru?" Kisame growled at that despicable name. Itachi kept his face impassive as usual, but on the inside he felt himself dreaded the news. Hidan's jaw dropped as his head snapped sharply to his mate in pure shock.

"You don't think that Orochimaru…" Kisame trailed off, asking the question that was on everyone's mind.

A moment of silence fell over them, before being broken by the loud mouthed Jashinst. "Damn it! Are you fucking saying that son of a bitch got him?" Hidan shouted as he jumped to his feet.

"It's a possibility considering his hobby. Itachi was a good example of that." Kisame's eyes narrowed at Kakuzu for dragging his mate into the unpleasant conversation. He parted his pale blue lips, about to snap at the stick bug, when the moth spoke.

"If it's Orochimaru, then Deidara will be fine."

Everyone stared at the moth; Hidan with a look of disbelieve while Kakuzu and Kisame waited patiently for his explanation.

"Fine? How can you say he's fine in that sick bastard's hand? For all we know he could have turned out to be like another one of that jackass' test subjects!"

"…He won't harm him."

"And how can you be so fucking sure?"

"If he finds out about Deidara's relationship with me, then he won't harm him."

The three froze at the sentence that spilled almost naturally from the moth's lips. Their eyes were wide as they stared at the raven.

"What…what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Hidan asked in a hushed tone, hoping that he had heard his friend wrong.

"If Orochimaru knows of our relationships, he will no doubt use Deidara to get me. Until then, no harm will come to Dei–"

"Enough!" Kisame shouted sharply to cut off his mate, unable to sit quietly and listen anymore. Itachi slowly turned to the blue skinned wasp with a very faint flicker of sadness glazed over his eyes.

"Kisame–"

"Don't, Itachi." The wasp snarled. "I don't want to hear it anymore."

"You're fucking insane if you think that'll solve anything!" Hidan shouted angrily once he snapped out of his shock. He couldn't believe what Itachi was trying to suggest. Did he even think about how Deidara would feel if he was here listening to this nonsense?

"How do you even know that bastard won't harm him? For all we know, he'll torture Deidara until he gets you to go save him!"

"Orochimaru is no fool." Itachi countered. "He won't touch him before he comes to me to make the deal."

"Then what? When he does you're just gonna fucking go with him?"

"If that's–"

**"ITACHI!"** Itachi flinched a little at the anger within his mate's voice, not expecting the outburst. He turned, letting the sight of his mate slowly come into his view. "I told you to shut up." Kisame hissed in a low, threatening tone.

"We are only making assumptions." Kakuzu finally decided to jump in. "There's proof that Orochimaru has got him."

"Blondie ain't weak! You think some fucking lowlife could easily catch him?" Hidan hissed.

"Hidan." Kakuzu's eyes narrowed at his mate. "Do you enjoy the idea of Orochimaru having Deidara?"

"WHAT? What the fuc–!"

"Then don't chew on the fact that he has him, idiot." The stick-bug said firmly before turning to Itachi – who still wore that emotionless mask while Kisame fumed in anger. "In any case, our priority right now is to find out Deidara's whereabouts. If he really has been captured by Orochimaru, then we will discuss a solution."

With the conversation over, Kisame stood up with Samehada strapped to his back. Without a word, he flew away, not even sparing his mate another glance.

"Ah ah…he left." Hidan murmured before looking back to see Itachi getting up as well.

"Then, Kakuzu, Hidan." Itachi gave a polite nod to the two before he turned and flew off towards the direction of his shared home with Kisame.

"Man, it's gonna be a freakin' long sun." The Jashinist sighed to himself as he rested an elbow on the stick-bug's shoulder. He turned to the sky that was brightening by the minute.

After half an hour, the sun slowly peeked out from the horizon.

~0~

Sasori sat on a pinkish-purple orchid, his body sparkling like the flowers around him as they were bathed in the soft, morning glow.

"They say the early bird catches the worm…" Sasori murmured as he dangled the leaf-wrapped package over his face. "Then the worm that wakes early must be stupid – not like they had any brains anyways." He turned and stared at the corpse of the Vanessa atalanta*; crimson blood bleeding from the wound on her neck that had caused her quick death.

He then turned back to the bundle in his hand that contained fresh nectar and frowned. He tightened his grip, tempted to just crush the fragile thing. It wasn't hard. All it took would be a light squeeze and the surgery substance will rain down on the dry soil.

"…Tch."

The mantis pulled himself to his feet and grabbed his newly caught food by the bleeding throat. He flipped the body over his shoulder gracefully, taking care not to get any blood stains on his clothes. Gazing into the rising sun, Sasori figured his livestock would be getting up soon. With the wrapped nectar safe in his other hand, he leaned over the edge of the petal and jumped off.

* * *

Actias artemis (Konan) – Also known as oomizuao in Japanese. This moth is native to Japan as well as Korea, China, India and Malaysia. Actias artemis is a close relative and look-alike of American Luna Moth. They vary in color from yellowish green to pale bluish green. The adult moths are active at night, but have only vestigial mouthparts and not feed; this phase of their life cycle is purely for mating and laying eggs. However, due to the fact that this is a fantasy, last sentence of the information will not apply to the story.

Vanessa atalanta - It is a common and cosmopolitan Holarctic butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. They can be found in temperate Europe, Asia and North America.


	7. Gray Silence

Sasori stared– no, _glared_ at the ceiling of his room as he lay in his bed of soft down. He rolled over on his side, auburn eyes wide open as he stared into the dimness of the room.

Once again, the mantis found himself enduring another sleepless night. Sitting up, he glanced over the edge of his bed to see the butterfly on the ground again. He was curled up with his large wing draped over his smaller frame like a thin sheet of blanket. It had been nine suns since Nagato and Tobi's visit and, since then, all the promises the mantis had made about devouring the creature have yet to come true.

The redhead let out an annoyed sigh, about to drop back onto his bed when a voice stopped him.

"Danna?" Sasori cursed all his luck as said problem of his peeked over the piles of feathers.

"Are you alright?" The blond asked warily.

The mantis' narrowed eyes met the butterfly's bluebell ones. "Why do you care, brat?" Sasori snapped coldly in response.

"You seemed restless lately so I thought…well…if you want to talk about it un."

"No." Was the immediate reply as Sasori rolled onto his side so his back was turned to the butterfly. He stared into the soft white feathers, unable to help but feel conscious towards the being behind him. By now, Sasori was too tired and didn't really care anymore about the air-headed blond's strange behaviour. He couldn't even find himself to think how weird it was for livestock to offer to be a consultant for his own captor.

Deidara stared at the back of the mantis before he slowly laid back on the soft cotton. When the mantis shot down his offer without sparing even a second of thought, the blond couldn't help but feel slightly bitter. He slowly closed his eyes as he remembered the tattered fabric and armours he found in the mantis' living room today – stained by deep crimson blood might he add.

Deidara held back the urge to sigh, not wanting to disturb the mantis and wake him in case Sasori finally got the rare sleep which he was lacking for nights.

Ever since Nagato and Tobi had came, Deidara felt more secure around the mantis. Not because of the fact that Sasori didn't seem to see him as food anymore, but because the redhead knew his friends. The attachment may seem insignificant, but it was enough for Deidara.

The butterfly didn't know if it was because of his friends – though he highly doubted it – but the mantis appeared to act…kinder.

Not in terms of his attitude or personality of course. He was still fairly cold towards the butterfly and obviously had no intention of opening up to him.

However, it was the mantis' _gestures_ that became gentler.

The mantis would bring daily nectars for the butterfly to keep him from starving. He would let the butterfly roam freely around his house and let him do whatever he pleased. Sasori never handled him roughly again – meaning no bruising baths or pale hands squeezing his throat in an attempt to suffocate him.

Deidara was no longer a prisoner – at least he didn't feel like one anymore. But that didn't mean he was happy.

He'd rather have things go back to the way they were before meeting the Assassin Bug and the Funnel-Web Spider.

Sure Deidara feared for his own life when he thought he would be devoured, but at least the butterfly hadn't feel so empty.

Ever since the first time the blond woke in his little corner with a leaf-wrapped container of nectar placed before him, the mantis never touched him again. When he said never, he meant absolutely zero physical contact. Whenever the butterfly was too near, the mantis would either send a glare to drive the butterfly back or step away himself.

The mantis would bring daily food supplies for the butterfly, that he took from his prey, to keep Deidara from starving, but he never directly handed it to him. The blond always found his food lying near him when he woke to the sunrise.

On the first day he woke up to find his food, the mantis was nowhere in sight. Deidara ended up staying in the room for hours, waiting for his captor's return.

When the mantis never came back, Deidara had hesitantly opened the door, looking around the empty hall before taking a small step outside. He froze, waiting a couple of minutes to see if any of those strange blue threads or blades would come flying at him. When nothing happened, the butterfly slowly walked around the underground home of the predator, looking into rooms – each void of Sasori.

Confused and lost, Deidara didn't know what to do and ended up returning to the mantis' bedroom to wait for his return – which ended up being after sunset.

The next day was the same, and the day following that.

On the fourth day, Deidara woke and walked into the living room just in time to see Sasori tossing aside a blood stained cloth with the same crimson liquid staining his hands. The mantis wasn't surprise to see the blond walking around his home. In fact, he didn't seem to care at all as he walked past the butterfly and disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel, all without a single word.

Deidara had tried several times to speak with his only companion, but was either brushed off by a cold shoulder or a cold remark that left no chance for conversation.

As the days slowly dragged on, the blond couldn't help but feel a strange longing to hear the mantis' voice, just for more than a mere second before the uncomfortable silence returned. If it was anyone else, the blond would have thought he/she was avoiding him. But, since it was Sasori, it was impossible to tell. The mantis always appeared cool and collected, not someone who seemed like he would ever avoid another. Even if he would, Deidara never did anything to him to deserve the treatment.

He didn't know what to do.

Every other day, he would find the discarded clothes of unfortunate insects that had fallen into the mantis' trap. From that, Deidara knew he was no longer _food_. If he was, the mantis would have eaten him long ago instead of going through the trouble of capturing others.

But if he was no longer food, then why was he still here?

Deidara didn't know what exactly he was to the mantis now. He lost count how many times he wondered if he should or could leave. There were many opportunities where he could just leave this place and never come back. The redhead didn't seem to have any intention of turning him into breakfast, but Sasori never outright told the butterfly to leave either.

Deidara tried leaving a couple of times – knowing where the door was after countless times exploring the place. But whenever he stood below the doors that led to the surface, Deidara couldn't find the will to leave.

He didn't know why, but he couldn't. It was as though there was a strange force trying to keep him inside the mantis' home.

"…Sasori no Danna?" Deidara called softly into the dark as he reopened his eyes. He stared at the white cotton layered over the ground. Receiving the usual silence, he slowly used his elbows to push himself up. When he saw Sasori's still back facing him, Deidara felt something inside him twist uncomfortably.

"Danna." He slowly reached out his hand, stretching his arm over the feather bed. Just when his fingers lightly brushed over the fabric of the mantis' sleeve, the redhead immediately jerked his hand away and pulled himself out of the butterfly's reach.

A bitter smile slipped onto the butterfly's lips at the display.

_"You're gross."_

_"Don't touch me, freak!"_

"If you're awake, you could at least say something, un." Deidara said softly, his gaze falling a little.

The butterfly waited, but the mantis was still and silence wrapped around the room. When Deidara realized how his hand was still outstretched, he quickly withdrew it. He stared down at his hand and smiled. Being with Hidan and everyone else in the meadow for so long, he had almost forgotten.

"I'm sorry."

Brown eyes snapped open in the dimness of the room at the unexpected words that softly escaped the blond's lips.

"I'm sorry, Danna, un." Deidara whispered as he gently rubbed his eye, softly repeating the words over and over.

By now, Sasori was utterly confused, wondering if the stupid blond had hit his head somewhere. He tried to tune the other out, but after minutes of attempt, he found it impossible. With every word of apology, the mantis grew more and more irritated until finally, he couldn't handle it anymore.

"Shut up already you stupid brat." The redhead growled as he shot up from his bed. When his glare snapped to the blond, the first thing the mantis saw was the faint trails of wetness over the blond's peach coloured cheeks.

"S-Sor–" Deidara was about to say, but quickly caught himself and sealed his lips obediently.

"Why are you crying?" Sasori asked, his tone level again as he watched the butterfly quickly rub his sleeve against his face.

"I-I was…something just went in my eyes." The mantis noted how the blond wasn't an experienced liar. As he was busy wiping the evidence of his tears off his face, Sasori found his eyes trailing to the pair of shimmering golden wings sprouting from the small insect's back. His gaze softened when he saw them tremble slightly.

"I'm really sorry, Sasori no Danna." The blond apologized again, already forgetting the mantis' words as he let his gaze fall to the ground.

There was a long silence before the redhead finally decided to speak. "Why are you apologizing?"

"I didn't mean to–!" The butterfly paused when he realized how the sentence he had in mind didn't make much sense. "I mean I–…umm…"

Sasori sat there, waiting impatiently as the blond kept stumbling over his own words. Just when his irritation was about to reach a whole new level, the blond finally seemed to have gotten his vocabulary right. However, the words he blurted out were just as unexpected as the tear stains on his face.

"…What did you say?" Sasori glared at the blond who didn't dare meet his gaze.

"I'm sorry I disgusted you, un." The butterfly repeated in a slower, but softer tone than before.

"Why would you think I was disgusted?"

"I-It's gross isn't it?" The butterfly stuttered a little with a very strained laugh. A poor attempt to brighten the mood, if there was one. "Even though I'm a male, my wings were born as a female's."

Sasori eyed the patch of blue on the butterfly's wings. True. The mantis did indeed notice as he had encountered both genders of the blond's species before. But not once did he care to even be disgusted or feel otherwise.

"I don't mind! I mean – it's natural. Even I'm disgusted at them as well, un. It wasn't as though I asked for it…"

The mantis stared at the blond as memories of the brat's first night spent in his room flashed into his mind. He remembered the way the blond had squirmed in his sleep and terrified words spilled through his lips. He didn't know what it was about, but now that he looked at the butterfly, everything fell into place.

Sasori stared at the tint of redness in Deidara's eyes that was left from the tears he shed.

"Get on."

The butterfly stared at the mantis in confusion at the words he spoke. Before he could ask what the other meant, Deidara yelped at the invisible force that suddenly pulled his body forward. He fell face first into the mantis' feather bed.

"D-Danna?" The blond whispered softly. He hesitantly looked up just as Sasori lay back onto his side. When no reply came, the butterfly slowly looked at the feathers he was lying on, then to the mantis' back that was facing him.

Was the redhead allowing him to sleep on his bed?

"Can…" The blond hesitated a little. "Can I sleep here?"

When the mantis didn't reply, Deidara instantly knew it was a yes. If it was any other time, he would be delighted, but this was not that time. He couldn't understand why the mantis was letting him into his bed when he was disgusted with him.

He thought that Sasori would have throw him out of his home by now.

"You know that Itachi, Kakuzu, Tobi, Nagato and I were together when young." The mantis suddenly spoke and Deidara looked up. "Did you ever wonder why?"

"You guys were just…friends. You don't need a reason, un." Deidara replied. After all, what reason do you need? If you like each other, then you're friends. If you don't, then you're not. Simple as that.

"We didn't come together because we wanted to." Sasori then said. "We had no choice but to be together."

The butterfly stared at the back of the mantis' head, wondering what he was trying to say.

"Along with three more, we came together to form a group in order to survive."

"But you all seem strong, why did you need to do that?"

"Because we're **different**." Sasori replied, emphasizing the keyword for the butterfly. "When mating season comes, insects return to their origin where its own kind gathers to reproduce. It's a protection system to ensure that the newborns have a greater chance of survival with the various adults watching over them."

"I know…I was born with the other Papilionidae*." Deidara replied softly, frowning at the memories he had of that place. Others called that place a sanctuary, but to the Tiger Swallowtail, it was hell.

"We were exiled from that system."

"Huh?" The butterfly stared at the mantis intensely. "What do you mean?"

"We were thrown into the world shortly after our birth." Sasori explained. "We were left to die."

"What? But that's–!" Deidara stared at the mantis in disbelieve. The place he was born in he was definitely treated badly, but the insects there honoured their world's system. As much as they may love to throw the blond into the wilderness and let him be eaten alive, they would never dare betray the law in fear of other insects finding out.

"So…all of you were thrown out? Then how did you find each other?"

"Coincidence." The mantis replied. "I met Kakuzu the same day I met Nagato. We didn't group together because we liked each other. For the sake of survival, we had no other choice. We were too small and weak to prey on anything alone. It was either work together or starve."

Sasori's eyes were flat as glass as he retold those bitter memories he had locked up for years, all in a short summary. Then, with a colder and harder voice, he whispered, "Don't deny who you are born as, Deidara."

The blond swallowed as he let the information slowly sink in. He had thought his past was bad, but when he heard the mantis' story, he couldn't even begin to imagine the hell they went through. In the past, there were many times Deidara couldn't handle the pressure and thought of running away, but he could never summon the courage. He was too young with too little knowledge of the outside world.

He knew that if he had left, he would die – falling prey to even the weakest predator. But Sasori, Itachi, Kakuzu and the others weren't even given a chance to decide their own fate.

They never had the choice.

Sasori began to close his eyes, only to quickly snapped them open again when he felt arms wrapping around him. His gaze narrowed. Just when he was about to snap at the blond, he stopped when he felt the butterfly trembling against his back.

As the room fell into absolute silences, the redhead could make out the faint sobs that were muffled against his back. Pale eyelids fell half way over those soft brown eyes as Sasori stared at the hands that were gripping him shakily. He didn't know why, but for some reason, a wave of strange, tingling sensations suddenly washed over him, warming the coldness in his slowly beating heart.

That night, Sasori finally found himself able to sleep for the first time in a while.

* * *

Papilionidae – A family of butterfly consists of over 550 species, many of which are large and colourful and recognizable even to non-specialists. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family occur on every continent except Antarctica.

* * *

Beta'd by Chillybean =)


	8. Honeydew Night

Beta'd by Chillybean

* * *

"It's been how many fucking moons now?" Hidan shouted as he slammed his fist into the table. "Blondie missing is bad enough. We don't need your stupid love quarrel getting in the way of our search!" The dragonfly said sternly as he glared at Itachi who was sitting across the table.

The Scarlet Tiger Moth said nothing, choosing to simply stare at the Jashinist with his indifferent onyx eyes.

"Just swallow your damn pride and fucking apologize, asshole. You can't really blame Kisame for his reactions. If I was in his shoe, I would have fucking sacrifice you to Jashin!"

"Enough already." Kakuzu sighed as he pulled himself from the wall. "Hidan, it's late. We're going home."

"Yeah, yeah." Hidan snapped at his mate before turning to glare at Itachi again. "You guys better make up, ya hear me? If I wake up tomorrow and still see you two going at it, I'm gonna beat the shit out of both of you!" With that warning, Hidan and Kakuzu retired for the coming night. Itachi sat for a few minutes longer, staring around his empty shared home before spotting a package of nectar Kisame had set on the table edge.

At the sight, Itachi's gaze fell at the remembrance of his mate whom he hadn't seen since they flew off their separate ways after the argument over Orochimaru. He knew the wasp had been secretly coming back to drop off food for him, but Itachi would always miss him since he only returned during the day, confident in his knowledge that Itachi would not be able to stay up due to fatigue.

The moth gently brushed a finger over the bundle of unopened nectar before releasing a soft breath he had been holding. Stretching his colourful wings, Itachi took flight into the twilight.

~0~

"Danna!"

"Shut up, brat." Sasori snapped, ignoring the noises outside as he tried to focus on the scroll he was reading.

"It'll only take a second, un. Please, Sasori no Danna?"

Growling in irritation, the mantis tossed his bamboo scroll away. Jumping to his feet, he strode over to the door and swung it open to reveal the free-loading butterfly. "If you want to go out, do it yourself." Sasori snapped, not liking how the blond was going around wasting his precious time.

"But the exit is too high up." Deidara mumbled before taking a quick glance at his broken wings. "I can't fly and can't really climb either."

"Didn't you learn to climb when you were a caterpillar?" Sasori sneered, before pausing at the remembrance of the blond's background. He stared at the blond, noticing how the butterfly had to fight back a frown that was threatening to cross his face.

"I'm–" Deidara's voice cracked, but he continued on; he was trying to sound as natural as possible. "I'm just not good at climbing, un."

The mantis leaned his shoulder against the door as he stared at the butterfly with a much softer gaze.

"I mean…umm– because of my wings! They're heavy, unlike yours Danna." Deidara quickly explained, waving his arms out in front of him to emphasize his point.

A moment of silence passed.

When Deidara noticed that Sasori didn't even move a muscle and was still continuing to stare at him, he gulped nervously. "S-so um…can you please…help me?" The butterfly's face flushed when his voice squeaked at the end, but quickly shook it off as he stared at the mantis, waiting for his answer.

At the butterfly's slip up, the mantis shifted before his muscles visible relaxed beneath his robe. His expression softened until the scowl he was wearing just a second ago completely vanished. Then, to Deidara's amazement, the mantis smiled.

Not a smirk or anything sinister for that matter. It was a warm and genuine smile!

The butterfly stared at the mantis, wondering if the other was feeling alright while being completely oblivious to the heat rising to his face.

"So you want to get up, is that it?" Sasori asked. It took Deidara five whole seconds before he finally registered what the mantis had said. When he saw Sasori waving his hand at him, he knew the mantis was telling him to come closer, so he did.

The minute he was within arm's reach, the blond gasped as a large hand grabbed him by the chin and pulled him over, closing the last space of distance and making hot breath gently ghost over his ears. Everything became silent as Deidara's heart began beating so fast that he swore it would leap out of his throat at any time. When the mantis brushed his lips over the shell of the butterfly's ear, the blond's breathing and heartbeat stop all together.

"No."

Whether it was that single word that sent Deidara's spirit crashing down or the door that was slammed to his face, the butterfly didn't know. By the time he had come to, he was on the ground with his nose throbbing in pain from the impact with the door. He stared blankly at the tightly shut door for minutes before his entire face flushed a deep crimson.

'_What the heck was that?'_ The blond panicked as he quickly put a hand over his chest in a useless attempt to slow his heart that was pounding painfully against his ribcage.

Why was his hearting beating so quickly?

Why was he feeling so restless all of the sudden?

The butterfly mentally screamed when he felt the hotness on his face. He was blushing! Why in the world was he blushing? _'And moreover…'_ Deidara gritted his teeth, the tension in his muscles forcing his veins to pop out. He grabbed the nearest pebble he could find and hurled it at the door with all his strength with the full intent of hoping the door would break.

"**DANNA YOU JERK!" **

Sasori smirked faintly as he listened to the butterfly's heavy footsteps as he stomped away.

Once he could no longer sense the butterfly's presence, he slowly pulled himself from the door. The mantis soundlessly made his way to the shelf where all his scrolls were.

As he looked over the scrolls, wondering which to read, he couldn't help but recall the brat's flustered face. His smirk widened as he recalled every detail on the blond's face and every small bit of his reaction.

When he realized what he was thinking, Sasori quickly snapped out of his daydream. His smirk was now replaced by a deep frown.

'_Why did I…?'_ Honey brown eyes narrowed as the mantis found himself questioning his actions.

He didn't know why he did what he did. When he saw the way the blond was pouting and asking for help, he couldn't help but felt this strong urge to tease the butterfly. There was this strange warmth in his chest that he couldn't describe. And when he saw how Deidara was blushing, all his reasoning seemed to evaporate into thin air.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance at how he couldn't figure anything out, Sasori randomly reached for another scroll, hoping that it would at least keep his mind off the butterfly for now.

~0~

Itachi panted softly, feeling exhausted from the long flight as he slowly fluttered down and landed on a blade of grass. He used his kimono sleeve to remove some sweat from his face as he glanced around, hoping to catch even a glimpse of his mate.

_"I told you to shut up."_ The words that ended their argument was embedded deep within the moth's mind. For the first time, Itachi didn't know what to do. Although he would never show or admit it, he was shaken by the fact that Kisame had actually yelled at him. Thanks to that fear, he wasn't able to bring himself to confront his own mate, leading to how things were right now.

Now, Kisame was purposely avoiding him.

With the land so big, the wasp could be anywhere. He hadn't been able to find him the other moons, so what were the chances of this time being any different? From the way Hidan spoke, he obviously had no clue what was going on between them, meaning that Kisame definitely did not go to their place.

"You foolish…" Itachi's voice trailed off as he stared into the darkness of the shadows around him. Whether those words he spoke were directed to his own mate or him, he didn't know.

"_I promise I'll always protect you, Itachi. You don't have to suffer anymore."_ The sweet words the wasp had spoken to him that night resurfaced as Itachi buried his face into his arms.

"Kisame." He whispered that name in a hush voice. He just wanted to hear it, the name of his mate rolling off his tongue.

"_No matter where you are…"_

"Kisame."

"Yes, love?" Itachi froze, his breath catching in his throat as he felt the arms that were wrapped tightly around his shoulders; his back pressed against a muscular chest.

"Ki…same?" Responding to the name, Itachi let out a silent gasp as he felt gentle kisses showered on his nape.

"I told you, didn't I? That no matter where you are, I'll always be with you."

"You…" Itachi tensed, immediately knowing the meaning behind his lover's words. "You were following me?"

"Did you think I would have left you alone?" Kisame asked, sounded slightly offended. Not knowing how to respond, the moth parted his lips. He was about to apologize when the wasp's strong arms that were wrapped around him tightened.

"I'm sorry." The two words that he was about to say were whispered tenderly in his ear. "I wanted to apologize sooner, but you were avoiding me. I thought you were angry so I couldn't–"

Whatever Kisame was going to say was lost as Itachi spun around and sealed the wasp's lips with his own. It was a sloppy kiss, as Itachi has very rarely – almost never, took the initiative. Kisame smirked against his mate's soft lips. He titled his head, adjusting a better angle to deepen the kiss.

"I should be the one to apologize." Itachi tried to control his pants once they finally parted due to the lack of air. "Forgive me, Kisame. I was out of line."

"You were just worried for Deidara." Kisame whispered. His arms were still around Itachi as he pulled the moth close against him. "It was understandable."

"No. It wasn't–" Itachi was cut off when his mate gently hushed him and buried his face into his raven hair.

No more words needed to be exchanged. Itachi leaned into the arms of his mate as he savoured the warmth he had missed. As the two enjoyed the company of one another, the peaceful air around them was shattered by humming. Pulling away from each other, the two insects turned to see a being step out from the shadows of the bushes. It was a spider, Itachi quickly realized with his sharp observation. It was a fairly carefree spider, atop his head short raven hair and an orange mask. He was humming a joyful tune with his hands behind his head.

When Kisame saw the scarf and mask, his rounded eyes immediately narrowed into a deep glare.

"Hm?" The spider stopped. As though feeling gazes upon him, he turned and was met with two pairs of eyes. One pair was practically burning holes into him while the other pair was staring at him in surprise.

"Wait…" The spider's jaw fell when his eyes caught a familiar wing splashed with shades of crimson, black and white. Slowly letting his gaze trail up, the spider's jaw dropped as he found himself staring at the elegant, pale face of the moth.

"You're–!"

"Spider!" Kisame growled and in an instant, he had pulled Itachi behind him protectively with one hand and gripped the hilt of Samehada with the other.

"Eh? W-wait!" The spider cried, shaking his head furiously as Kisame's wings stretched to their full length. Just when he was about to attack the spider, he was quickly held back by a pair of arms hugging him, preventing him from successfully pulling Samehada out.

"Itachi?" Kisame turned to his mate, but was ignored as Itachi quickly stepped out from behind him.

'_Tobi.'_ Itachi whispered the name quietly in his mind as he took in the spider's form. Although it had been a while, there was no mistake.

It is him.

"It is you!" The spider gasped in delight before he suddenly rushed forward and pounced towards the long haired moth. "ITA–**GYAAA!**"

Itachi, now trapped within his mate's arms, stared at the scene that was now moving in slow motion as Samehada mercilessly whacked the offensive spider away.

~0~

"Stupid cold-blooded jerk…" Deidara mumbled, trying to think up as many names as he could for the red haired mantis. He stared at the pair of doors that led to the surface high above him, frowning before looking around, hoping to find something – anything that could get him out of this place.

Deidara knew that the sun had long set, but he didn't want to go to bed so early. He didn't know what came over him, but he wanted to see the world under the moon. Sure he sometimes woke up in the night, but he was always half asleep at that time so he never took note of his surroundings.

The butterfly never cared much for the life in the night. None of his friends spoke about it, so he never really gave it much thought. However, after hearing stories from Nagato and Tobi of their own little travels, it got the butterfly curious. It made him want to see exactly how the life of moon dwellers were led. Even so, he never dared to ask Sasori, seeing as how their relationship was pretty bad at the time. But after that night when Sasori told him about his and the others' past, the mantis seemed to have opened up greatly. He didn't ignore him or seemingly avoid him anymore. On the contrary, the mantis would tease the butterfly on a daily basis, much to Deidara's annoyance, and he was seen more occasionally than before.

"Guess I'll have to do it myself, un." Deidara sighed as he glanced around the wall, looking for a part with more bumps so it would be easier to grasp. Using the non-existent muscles in his arms, the butterfly tried to pull himself up, only to quickly loose balance due to the heaviness in his wings and crash, once again, onto his rear.

The blond whined, rubbing where it hurt as he shot a glare to the innocent wall. Unfortunately, his glaring contest with the wall didn't last as long as he had hoped because of that hateful snicker that echoed down the tunnel.

"Go away." Deidara murmured, feeling a bit embarrassed that he was actually seen.

"Butterflies are famed for their gracefulness." Sasori said as he stepped out of the shadows. "I suppose it's only a superstition."

"Leave me alone! Did you come to mock me?" Deidara turned, about to show the mantis the scowl on his face when he suddenly felt strong arms wrapping around him and pulling him off the ground.

"Da–Danna?"

"Fold your wings, brat."

Deidara stared at Sasori, but before he could question, the mantis suddenly kicked off the ground as wind slammed against the butterfly's back. Yelping in surprise, Deidara quickly wrapped his arms instinctively around Sasori's neck.

"Wait– Stop! We're going to crash into the wall!" Deidara shouted at the sight of the wall coming towards them. The mantis once again, ignored the butterfly. When the wall came near, he stretched out his long legs, kicking off from the wall to change their direction as they soared into the air again.

'_He's using the walls to scale up the tunnel!'_ Deidara thought in surprise. He had never seen anyone do something like this in his entire life, and with Sasori's frame too. The butterfly would have never guessed that the mantis had such strong muscles. He was carrying two insects' weight, yet he moved with such ease that it was almost like the redhead was flying.

With one last jump off the wall, Sasori flicked his wrist, attaching threads to the door and making them open just as they flew out onto the surface.

Deidara gasped, inhaling the fresh, crisp air of the night as he opened his eyes to find himself staring up at a full moon.

~0~

"Ow! I-Itachi-senpai! Lightly! Lightly!" Tobi whined as Itachi gently tended to the large lump on the side of the spider's head.

Kisame sat near them, glaring slightly at the spider with Samehada in his hand, ready to strike at a moment's notice. "Itachi…you know this spider?" The wasp asked cautiously, clearly not pleased with how his mate being so close to one of the most feared predators in their world – let alone treating the thing's injury.

"We used to travel together." Itachi replied. "Together with Kakuzu, Konan and Yahikiko along with some others." With a hard tug to secure the knot, the moth finally finished bandaging the spider's head with thin strips he had carefully cut from the nearby grass.

"So this spider is one of the others?" Kisame asked, seeming more relaxed, though his grip on Samehada remained firm.

"Itachi-senpai! Who is that?" Tobi demanded, pointing a finger rudely in Kisame's direction. "Just because I'm a spider doesn't give you any right to attack me! Tobi is a good boy you know!"

"What did you–!"

"That is Kisame." Itachi said calmly, ignoring the wasp who looked as though he wanted nothing more than to tear the spider into pieces. "He is my mate."

"M-m-m-mate?" Tobi spluttered the words in disbelieve. "Senpai you've mated already? Wow! Time sure flies by!" The spider exclaimed while Itachi responded with only a faint nod in agreement.

"Hate to break your little reunion, but shouldn't we get going?" Kisame asked as he climbed to his feet.

"Whaaat?" Tobi whined like a larvae. "But we just met after so many cycles!"

"We will speak another time." Itachi promised, getting to his feet as well as he joined his mate.

"Come on. We have to find Deidara." Kisame spoke with eyes never leaving Tobi as though afraid the spider would attack his precious mate at anytime and devour him.

"Deidara?" Tobi perked up at the name as the couple began to walk away. "Where have I…"

As the Funnel-Web spider began mumbling to himself, Itachi turned at his mate, giving the wasp a stern and disapproving look. "Kisame." Itachi said lowly so only the wasp could hear. "Tobi isn't harmful."

"I know." Kisame sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose before stealing another glance at the spider. "I'm just…not used to being around spiders. I just can't be comfortable around them."

Itachi, although he looked indifferent, was actually frowning on the inside. He can't say he liked what his mate said, but he knew where Kisame was coming from. Spiders are known for their cold-blooded nature. _Friend_ and _family _are foreign words that meant nothing to them. Like the masks they wore, they had no emotions, caring for no one but themselves. That is their nature.

Although Tobi fit into none of those descriptions, Kisame didn't know that; the moth couldn't blame his mate for being cautious and overprotective.

"Ah! I remembered!" Tobi suddenly exclaimed, catching the attention of the couple as they turned to the arachnid. "If you're talking about Deidara-senpai then you don't need to worry! He's fine!"

The wasp stared at the spider, dumbfounded while the moth stared for a moment before he reacted first.

"Tobi, you know Deidara?" Itachi questioned, quickly getting to the point.

"Huh?" Tobi stared at the anxious moth before he realized what he had done. "Crap…!" He instinctively slapped his hand over the lower part of his mask, where his mouth was located. However, that action only made the moth's dark eyes narrow into a glare.

The slip up and the follow up action was enough to tell the world that he indeed knew about the object of their discussion.

The spider quickly turned, about to make a mad dash for it when a large blue hand grabbed his scarf and forcefully pulled him back. Tobi yelped as he fell to the ground, opening his eyes only to face two angry looking insects. Kisame showing his anger more on his face while Itachi had a murderous aura leaking from his body.

At the sight, Tobi immediately began to sweat.

"Tobi."

Tobi jumped when Itachi called his name menacingly. The moth leaned down dangerously close to the spider with his raven eyes morphing into a familiar shade of crimson.

"You know where Deidara is, don't you?"

"W-wait–!" Tobi shook his head with a waterfall of tears leaking through the only visible hole for his eye. He quickly avoided looking into the moth's eye and tried to crawl away, but couldn't get far as Kisame's foot had firmly pinned his scarf down.

"Will you tell us, Tobi?"

"I-Ita-Itachi-senpai! C-Calm dow– _**GY****AAAAAAAAAH!**_"


	9. Ruby Parting

_Beta'd by Chillybean_

* * *

Deidara shivered as he hugged his knees close to his body and wrapped his better wing around him in an attempt to block the chilly wind.

"W-why is it so cold?" The blond stuttered as his steel blue eyes shifted to the mantis sitting beside him on the leaf of the orchid, seemingly unaffected by the cold weather.

Sasori didn't respond. He just sat there, his chin resting on his palm as his soft hazel-colored eyes gazed out into the distance. The butterfly noted how the other seemed to be lost in his thoughts shortly after they came outside.

Deciding to ignore the mantis, the blond tilted his head up to the sky. Although his body was trembling from the cold, a bright smile formed over his lips as he stared at the stars scattered in the sky.

_'It's beautiful.'_ The butterfly thought in wonder as he curled up against his wing more. No matter how many times he saw those lights scattered across the dark sky, he could never get enough. They were absolutely breathtaking – much more beautiful than the butterfly could ever imagine.

The blond didn't know how long he had been watching the stars for, but he didn't care. He took his time, trying to connect the stars to see if he could form out any images like he occasionally did with clouds.

As the blond busied himself trying to draw a picture in the sky, Sasori was secretly gazing at him from the corner of his eye. The mantis stared at the innocent happiness over the Papilionidae's face and snorted. He still found it unbelievable how everything came to be the way it is now.

He couldn't believe how carefree his ex-prey acted around him.

He couldn't believe how he allowed the butterfly to live.

He couldn't believe how he co-existed with the butterfly without the thought of devouring the other.

But more than anything, he couldn't believe that he had allowed the creature to become part of his life.

_'I'm changing.'_ Sasori thought with realization as his eyes shifted up to the stars. He was changing slowly, but surely. He couldn't feel it before, but as he looked back into his life and compared it to the present, he realized how he had changed ever since he brought the brat into his nest.

The question is: is this change for the better or for the worst?

Understanding the changed was one thing, but he couldn't figure out the strange feelings that came along with it. The best example of those would be the strange thirst that over-took over him whenever the blond was near. Since he could control it, it didn't pose as a problem, but the constant thirst was really starting to irk him. Sasori bit the inside of his mouth lightly, so his razor sharp teeth wouldn't tear through the tissue. He couldn't understand why he couldn't get rid of it. No matter how much he ate and how full he became, he always seemed to want something more.

Something in the form of a blond haired, Tiger Swallowtail brat…

"Danna! Danna!"

A sharp tug on his arm made the mantis loose his balance, and his fangs sliced open the small veins inside his mouth. He quickly put a hand over his lips, holding back a flinch as the heavy scent of blood flooded his taste bugs.

"Look at that! Up there!" Deidara's voice rang as Sasori felt his arm being tugged even more. He looked over to the butterfly, sending him a dark glare that could send any insect running miles. Too bad the blond was oblivious to his gaze. His bluebell eyes were too busy staring at the sky. The mantis reluctantly followed the other's gaze and saw a small speck of green light flying over their heads.

"That star is moving!" Deidara said excitedly, and Sasori took a quick second to turn his head and spit out the content of his mouth. As much as the mantis enjoyed the taste of raw flesh and the fluid that comes along with it, he hated the taste of his own blood. It was bitter and always left a disgusting after-taste.

"That's not a star." The red head said as he looked up to see the light disappearing behind the tall trees. "That's a firefly."

"Firefly?" Deidara's head snapped to Sasori, his eyes wide with shock. "Y-you mean like a fly that's on fire?"

"No you moron." Sasori snapped, and he felt blood gather inside his mouth again. "They are moon dwellers from the beetle order Coleoptera. That light is something they produce within their body through a chemical reaction called bioluminescence. The process usually occurs in specialized light-emitting organs in their lower abdomen."

"Heh." Deidara smiled as his eyes widened in wonder. "You know a lot of things Danna, un."

"I have dissected a couple of them out of curiosity."

A crippling silence passed by. Sasori didn't look at the butterfly. He stared uninterestedly into the shadows, cast by the moonlight, of some bushes. He waited, expecting some kind of outburst or a voice of disappointment, but he got none of that.

Instead, he got laughter.

The blond butterfly was laughing in such a carefree manner that almost made it seem like the mantis had just told a very good joke.

_'Of course.' _Sasori rolled his eyes, not even the slightest bit surprised anymore at the butterfly's weird and unnatural reactions.

"I didn't know you had such hobby, un."

"You never asked." Sasori retorted.

"Who would ask something like that?" Deidara asked dully before he turned back to the sky. "I wonder where that firefly is going."

"Most likely the northern spring." The red haired predator replied as he forced himself to swallow the disgusting contents in his mouth. "They party there nearly every night."

"A spring?" Deidara hummed as he glanced back to Sasori. "There's actually a– Danna!"

At the blond's outburst, the mantis had to fight against himself not to snap at the brat. He couldn't understand why the thing had to shout so often. He glowered at the other only to discover how close their faces suddenly were.

"There's blood on your lips!" Deidara said, and before Sasori could respond, the butterfly used his sleeve to wipe the crimson liquid off the corner of the predator's pale lips.

"It's just a small cut." The mantis said. He looked away only to have Deidara appear in his face again.

"A cut doesn't bleed that much, un. Let me take a look. I might be able to help stop the bleeding."

Sasori stared as Deidara reached a hand towards him, the distance between them closing by the second. The mantis tried to move away, but he couldn't force his body to respond. His eyes were fixed upon those rosy lips that were leaning closer to him. A strange heat flared within his chest, and Sasori felt his, usually silent, heart beating painfully inside his chest. Those lips moved, but Sasori couldn't hear what they were saying. He couldn't make out a single word because the sound of his heart beating clogged his ears. When he felt something touch the side of his cheek, his russet colored eyes dilated. His instincts took over, and his hand shot up, swiping at whatever had touched him; blood splattered into the air.

The mantis couldn't comprehend what had happened until Deidara's scream reached his ears. He snapped out of his trance and, for the first time, caught the heavy scent of fresh blood. The scent of the blood did not belong to him as it smelled too sweet. He slowly looked up and saw the blond sitting a few feet from him. Deidara's face was twisted in pain, and he was clutching onto his hand that was dyed in crimson liquid.

It had taken Sasori a few seconds before his mind was able to register what it was: blood.

He slowly stared down at his hand and found his fingers stained in the same liquid. Sasori stared in disbelieve. He couldn't understand what had happened. He couldn't even remember hurting the butterfly.

"D-Danna?" At the weak call, Sasori slowly looked up and met those gentle blue eyes. "Danna, you alright?"

A normal insect would have laughed upon hearing that, but Sasori was far from normal right now with his brain unable to function properly. He couldn't believe what the idiot was asking. The brat was the one who got hurt, not him. So why was he, the injured one, asking if he, the assailant, was alright? Why wasn't the dumb blond fleeing from him by now?

Why was he smiling when he was obviously in pain?

"Danna–"

"Don't touch me." Sasori growled, his eyes snapping to the blond's outstretched hand in a cold glare.

Deidara blinked. He stared at Sasori for a long moment before he weakly smiled and withdrew his hand. He mouthed an inaudible apology.

The red head froze with wide eyes. He didn't physically hear what the butterfly had said, but he somehow felt it deep down within his heart.

"I'm sorry, un." Deidara repeated a little louder. He didn't know if the other heard him or not. If he did, then the red head was being a jerk again with the silent treatment. He turned his focus back to his still bleeding hand, and he pressed the sleeve of his robe deeper against it. Thankful for his decent reflexes, the wound wasn't as deep as it would have been, but the pain was still there.

"Your cut," Sasori said after a long while, "show it to me."

Deidara glanced up at the mantis before he slowly held up his wounded hand, which Sasori grabbed without missing a beat. The butterfly hissed loudly at the searing pain, but the red head ignored him.

The mantis stared at the hand that was trembling against his own. With a wave of his other hand, the blue threads extended out from his fingertips. Just when he was about to wrap the threads over the wound, Sasori's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he quickly pulled the surprised butterfly into his arms and jumped to the side. A blur of white shot by them and slammed into the spot where Sasori once sat, piercing a hole through the thick orchid leaf they were on.

Grabbing the blond by the back of his kimono collar, Sasori roughly tossed the brat aside before he spun around to meet his attacker.

The threads dangling from his fingers formed into a crescent shaped blade, and Sasori raised it to meet the oncoming one. A large, heavy sword slammed down to meet his more elegant one. Sasori adjusted the angle of his arm, causing the heavy sword to slide down his upturned, slimmer blade. By the time the wasp had reacted, having stumbled forward from the blow, the mantis had vanished from sight.

"No!" Deidara's scream tore through the air when Sasori appeared behind the wasp. Sasori froze, his eyes snapping to the blond in hidden surprise at what he had just said. It was only a second of distraction, but that distraction gave the wasp more than enough time as he spun around and slammed his sword down.

The mantis, having no time to escape, raised his arms over his head as both swords clashed. The sword didn't stop there though. The wasp was far too strong, and the only thing Sasori could do was slow it down for a fraction of time so he could call out his other blade. He crossed his arms over his head to fully block it. The orchid leaf swayed heavily from the impact. Neither was giving in, but it was obvious that the red head was at a huge disadvantage. Being an Orchid Mantis, power was not one of his species' strong points, as they specialize in stealth. Their body-builds were smaller, more fragile compare to other predators, and wasps were the worst choice to be paired up with because strength was their specialty.

Sasori gritted his teeth. Every muscle in his body was screaming out in pain, unable to withstand the pressure. With the wasp pressing his sword against him like this, he couldn't escape. The instant he pull back his blades, he would be crushed. The wasp, knowing that as well, slid his sword roughly against the mantis' blades, creating a sickening screech as the duo blades began to deform.

"Wait! Danna! Stop!" Sasori heard Deidara's voice cry out, but it made no sense to his ear. He glared at the rounded eyes of the other predator. He ducked his head lower, the larger sword now only a mere finger's length from ripping out a hole in his skull.

From the sidelines, Deidara kept pleading them to stop, but neither of them was able to register his voice.

Sasori bit down on his lips before he abruptly pulled himself down into a crouch, taking the wasp by surprise as one of his blades scattered into threads, which tied themselves around the large sentient sword. With a hard tug, Sasori changed the angle of the sword as it narrowly missed his shoulder.

"Web?" The wasp gasped in surprise, but he quickly regained himself as he adjusted his grip on the sword and made a quick, horizontal slash. While the wasp aimed for the mantis' undefended left side, Sasori thrust his right arm out, and his blade shot forward, aiming directly towards the muscular neck of the enemy.

Before both predators' attacks could meet, blue threads similar to Sasori's showered down from the sky. The threads wrapped around the two, and before either of them could react, they were forcefully pulled apart and thrown opposite directions.

"Sasori no Danna!" Deidara gasped, quickly giving the blue wasp a look of concern before he rushed to the Orchid Mantis.

"Danna, are you alright?" The butterfly reached out his better hand in attempt to help the mantis up, but the other just leaned away from him.

"I'm fine." Sasori spat out as he used his elbows to push himself up, though he had a little difficulty due to the blue threads that were binding him tightly.

"Phew! That was close!" A familiar, annoyingly cheerful voice shouted.

Both Sasori's and Deidara's eyes snapped up just in time as two figures dropped down from the sky and landed between them and the wasp.

"Tobi?" Deidara gasped at the sight of masked raven before his gaze shifted to Itachi who had hurried to the wasp's side and was helping the other up.

"Itachi?" Sasori muttered, unable to hide his shock this time. He had never thought he would see the moth again, not after he had left the group and had went his separate way. His eyes darted between Itachi and Kisame, noting how unnaturally intimate they seemed. When his eyes finally drifted to Tobi, everything clicked together.

"Itachi, Kisame no Danna!"

Sasori glanced at the butterfly who was staring at his friends longingly, confirming the mantis' suspicion. The mantis had expected the butterfly to run over to those two, but he didn't. Despite how much he looked like he wanted to, he remained by the mantis' side.

"Sasori-senpai! You can't attack Itachi-senpai's mate!" Tobi shouted as he flailed his arms around, making the threads that were still wrapped around the two predators constantly tighten and loosen.

"Tobi! Stop that!" Deidara quickly shouted. He reached out and grabbed one of the blue threads in attempt to get the other to stop, only to have his palm glue to the surprisingly glutinous substance; he was unable to pull away. The blond would have smacked himself if only his free hand wasn't stinging with pain and blood. Tobi was a spider, and this was his web, so of course it would be sticky.

Sasori, fed up with being tied down and the spider's stupidity, slashed his blade through the threads, effectively freeing himself while Kisame had simply broken the threads through sheer force.

At the sight of how easily the two broke free of his web, Tobi jumped back with a loud gulped. For once, the spider seemed to have enough common sense to know when to quiet down.

"Sasori." Itachi stepped up and met the mantis' gaze silently.

For the first time, Deidara noticed the Scarlet Tiger Moth's eyes. They were the strange shade of crimson, not the usual black he was accustomed to. His happiness died away when he finally registered the emotions swirling within those foreign eyes.

Itachi was angry.

Deidara wasn't as good as reading the moth as Kisame was, but he knew enough about the other to know when he was truly pissed off. He literally saw the murderous intent rolling off the raven's lithe frame. For the longest time, nobody spoke a word. Kisame stood behind Itachi with his hand firmly gripping the hilt of Samehada. Tobi edged away, not wanting to be caught between the two intense stares.

A chilling breeze blew by, and Sasori was the first to break the contact.

The mantis reached over to Deidara, seizing his injured hand in a tight grip that made the blond yell out in pain. Kisame looked as though he was ready to pounce, but stopped when his and Itachi's eyes met for a brief second to exchange silent messages.

"Danna– ow! It hurts–Ah!" Deidara yelped when Sasori's grip tightened. The mantis dragged the butterfly over to the moth and the wasp, slowly closing the distance. Once he was close enough, Sasori stopped and, with his predatory strength, threw Deidara across the rest of the way. Itachi quickly stepped back, his wings stretched out behind his back as Deidara crashed against him. If not for Kisame, who had quickly stepped behind his mate, the two nectar-sapping beings would have surely been knocked off the orchid leaf from the force.

Itachi bit back a wince as he held onto Deidara. His crimson eyes shot up, narrowly glaring at the mantis who simply returned it with a dull look.

"Take that piece of filth and get off my turf." Sasori hissed, his eyes quickly darting away when those blue eyes, that carried a hint of grey, looked up at him with hurt.

A deep growl rumbled in Kisame's throat. The blue wasp looked as though he wanted nothing more than to tear the mantis apart, but he knew better because the blond was their priority.

"Da–…Danna…?" Deidara whispered, his voice too low for any of them to hear as he watched Sasori walk away without once looking back. Deidara quickly tried to follow, but Itachi's grip on his arms held him back.

"That is what we came for." Itachi replied emotionlessly. He turned to Tobi, giving the spider a light nod before he and his mate walked away, dragging the butterfly with them.

"Wait, Itachi please–" The butterfly tried to reason, but knew his words were deaf to them. He looked over his shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of the mantis, only to have the rest of his heart, or whatever that still remained, shatter at the sight.

Sasori was gone.

He had left him.


	10. Magenta Aster

_Beta'd by Chillybean_

* * *

"From all of the fucking stories of the forest, you should know better than to go in there! Do you have any idea what the hell could have happened, ya moron?"

Deidara mentally winced, trying hard not to express his discomfort on his face as Hidan continued to scold him as he had done ever since he barged into Kisame's and Itachi's home with Kakuzu.

"You should know the forest insects live in a completely different world! Those fuckers are dangerous! Just look at these three!" Hidan pointed his fingers rudely at the three other occupants in the room.

"Hidan, that's enough." Itachi finally spoke, giving the string of silk in his hand a tug, and Deidara jumped with a slight whimper from the stinging pain. "I believe you have made your point." The blond watched as Itachi snipped the thread. When the raven gave him a light nod, he slowly pulled his hand from the table and stared at the silk bandage wrapped tightly around his palm.

"Like hell!" Hidan snapped back. "And that fucking mantis! What the hell's with that jackass'–"

"Don't call Danna that!" Deidara suddenly shouted, speaking up for the first time since he had gotten back that night. Almost immediately silence fell over the room. Itachi's hands were frozen in the middle of rolling the extra threads while Hidan was dumbfounded that his best friend actually snapped at him.

The two dominate mates of the dragonfly and moth stood off to the side, their surprise well hidden like Itachi's.

"Sasori no Danna isn't like that, un! Sure he acted like a jerk at the beginning, but he's…"

_"Take that piece of filth and get off my turf."_

"He's…" Deidara's voice broke off as his lips trembled. Suddenly, he jumped out of his seat and ran out of the living room, vanishing down the tunnel of the Cicada Wasp's home.

"Hey!" Hidan shouted, about to run after the butterfly, but Itachi held out a hand to stop him.

"Let him be." The moth said calmly as he finished winding up the soft material and set it aside on the table.

"But he was–"

"Hidan." Kakuzu said as he walked over to his mate. "You've said more than enough. I think we all get the point."

"Yeah." Kisame agreed. "Just leave the kid alone. He's had it rough as it is."

"…Tch. Whatever." Hidan snorted as he headed for another tunnel with Kakuzu at his side. "Hey, bluey, we're gonna crash in your other rooms! No need to worry about us!"

"What?" Kisame snapped his head up. "You two are staying?"

"Course we are! It's the middle of the fucking night!" Was all Hidan shouted before the sound of door slamming shut was heard. Kisame sighed heavily and pinched at the bridge of his nose.

"Those guys. They act like they own the place!"

"Hidan and Kakuzu are simply concerned about Deidara, Kisame."

"I know." Kisame grumbled. "Otherwise I would have slapped them with Samehada already."

The moth smiled lightly when his mate let out a defeated sigh. Distracted, Itachi wasn't watching where he was going and hit the edge of a chair. He stumbled forward and would have hit the ground if the wasp wasn't there to catch him.

"You used up too much energy with your eyes. You should get some sleep as well, 'Tachi."

Itachi didn't say anything. He just closed his eyes and leaned into his mate, his face buried into the wasp's firm chest. When he gave a very light nod, the blue-skinned wasp bent down and carefully gathered his mate into his arms. He stared at the limpness of his mate's beautiful wings, knowing that he had reached the limit.

He was about to carry his mate towards their room when Kisame heard a loud crashing sound, followed by a string of curses. The wasp immediately turned and headed for the tunnel at the opposite end of their home.

In the room right next to where a certain blond was, unfortunately, staying, Hidan and Kakuzu were having their usual argument. The Swallowtail butterfly sat curled up in the corner. His large wings were wrapped over him tightly as he desperately tried to block out Hidan's curses.

_'Why are they staying too?'_ Deidara thought, but he couldn't help smiling when he heard Kakuzu gave his usual retort – which led, of course, to an even more pissed off dragonfly. He pulled his legs to his chest and rested his chin on his knees. He listened as the couple argued, wondering how long had it been since he heard them like this. As he listened, he couldn't help but remember how he hadsometimes argued with Sasori like that.

He frowned at the memory of the mantis and stared down to his bandaged hand.

"Why…" He whispered as the image of Sasori's face flashed in his mind. He could remember it vividly when those brown eyes fell to the deep gash in his hand. "That time... why did you look as though you wanted to cry Danna?"

~0~

"S-Sasori-senpai!"

"I told you to _get out_!"

**"GYAAAAH!"** Tobi screamed as he flew out of the entrance to the mantis' home. He crashed onto the ground painfully. The sound of doors slamming shut was heard as the spider quickly scrambled to his feet. "Senpai!" Tobi called, but he didn't get any response as a chilling breeze flew by.

Tobi stared at the entrance to the mantis' home.

"Shoot…" He muttered as he looked at the ground, feeling dejected. "I think I made senpai really mad this time."

"It's nothing new." A deep voice suddenly spoke. Tobi perked up, immediately recognizing the voice as he turned to see the Assassin Bug step out from the bushes.

"Nagato-senpai!" Tobi screamed in delight with tears running down the single hole in his mask. At the sight of the spider dashing to him, Nagato arched a fine eyebrow. With a quick step to the side, he narrowly evaded the spider who flew past him and crashed mask first into the ground.

"You've been gone for a while, so I came looking for you." Nagato said nonchalantly as though Tobi had not just flown by him and smashed into the ground. "Now then, what is this about Sasori?"

~0~

Deidara sighed for what felt like the hundredth time as he rolled back to the center of the bed. He was exhausted, but he couldn't sleep. The image of Sasori's face wouldn't leave his mind, and the fact that the room was lacking the scenery of flowers and the Orchid Mantis' presence didn't help. Finally making up his mind, he climbed out of bed. He carefully opened the door, looking left and right to make sure no one was in the hall.

He knew Hidan and Kakuzu had long fallen asleep, tired out from their long argument. He walked down the hallway, but no matter how light he tried to keep his footsteps, he could still hear them echoing down the tunnel that was brightly lit by sunstones.

When he got to the living room, he looked up to the door of the home hovering high over his head. He gulped, looking around to see if there was anything he could grasp, like some grass roots for example, but he found none. He then slowly looked at his slightly bent wing.

Although his wing had healed considerably, it was still broken and needed more time. But maybe, just maybe…

"Ow!" Deidara cried out when he tried to move his wing. When he realized how he had just screamed out, he quickly clasped a hand over his mouth and nervously looked around. He waited a minute, then another.

No one came.

He sighed in relieve before his eyes slowly shifted back to the entrance overhead. He then slowly glanced back to his golden wings. Gritting his teeth, the butterfly braced himself and gave them a flap. His entire body jumped as pain jolted down his spine, but he didn't stop. He flapped again and again. With a leap into the air, Deidara flapped his wings faster, letting him hover in the air a few seconds before he collapsed onto the ground.

The blond panted heavily as sweat rolled down his forehead. His expression was twisted with pain, but he pushed it aside and began trying again. Each time he managed to hover longer, and he even ascended a little before he collapsed back onto the ground. Each time he tried, he got higher and higher, but so did the pain. Every time he flapped his wings, he felt them become more numb than before.

"A-almost…!" He panted with his good hand stretched over his head, trying to push up on the heavy door. With a few more flaps, his gold and blue wings gave out just as he grasped the edge to keep himself from falling, and his body slammed against the wall from the force. He panted heavily and winced at the pain shooting up his wing. Not daring to look down, the butterfly kept his eyes up as he reached with his wounded hand and grasped the edge as well. With a hard pull, he began pulling his body up.

"Urgh-aaaah!" Deidara yelled out in relief as his body fell onto the flat soil of the surface. He laughed, though it sounded a little strained due to his lack of breath. "I did it!" He cheered, but his smile faded when he remembered the way Sasori teased him about not being able to climb. He did it... He then got up, but he had no red head to celebrate this fact with, no mantis to boast his achievement to.

"Sasori no Danna…"

~0~

"I see." Nagato finally spoke after listening to Tobi's long, and exaggerated, explanation of what had happened. He sat on a leaf of a shrub with the spider dangling on his web at his side.

"I couldn't help it! Itachi-senpai is really scary when he's angry! I didn't want to see those creepy eyes!"

"It's inevitable. With both Itachi and Kakuzu there, one of them would be bound to find Deidara sooner or later." The Assassin Bug shrugged as he gazed up to the moon. "I had thought that by giving him more time, he would have figured it out. Have I overestimated Sasori?"

"Nagato-senpai is not at fault!" Tobi quickly said, jumping to the red head's defense. The Assassin Bug smiled at that before he absent-mindly reached over and ran his fingers through the spider's midnight black locks.

The spider hummed out pleasantly, liking the contact as he leaned against the pale hand for more attention.

"Perhaps it's the best this way. Sasori is stubborn. He won't realize what he has lost until he loses it." Nagato slowly turned to the spider, but the other didn't appear to be listening at all. The comfortable caress from the bloodthirsty predator's hand had sent him off into his own world.

~0~

"First it was Sasori, then Itachi…I don't know what he sees in them." A voice sighed as a figure wearing a cloak made of leaf wandered around the darkness.

"Ugh…!" He paused in his steps, wincing as his hand reached up to rub gently at his chest. He broke into a couple of light coughs. "Tch…if only I had more power…"

He stood there, waiting for his coughs to pass by before he slowly straightened himself. The figure took a few light breathes, seeming to still be in pain, and there was sweat trickling down his face, which was hidden by the large hood. Once the pain bypassed, he was about to proceed to walk when a sound caught his attention.

The figure's first reaction was to bend his knees, getting into a guarded position as he observed his surroundings. Once he was sure there was no threat around him, he began following the sound. He stepped into the bushes and melted into the shadows.

He pushed past the thick curtain of leaves before emerging on the other side where he saw a scene which nearly took his breath away.

"That's..."

The cloaked figure stepped forward, pushing the leaf obstructing his view aside to get a clearer look. In the distance, high upon the aster,was a gorgeous insect with large, golden wings glistening under the silver ray of the moon. The cloaked figure immediately recognized it as a Tiger Swallowtail from the obvious colours and patterns on the wings. At the sight of the blue patches of colours on the wings, he had almost thought the creature was a female, but the deep, throaty sobs told him otherwise.

The butterfly sat with his legs folded tightly against his chest. His face was buried in his knees and his body quivering as he cried. The creature's voice was soft and soothing. Despite the obvious masculine depth within it, it was a beautiful voice nonetheless – one that could easily put crickets to shame.

"There's no mistake." The cloaked figure gasped before a delighted chuckle made its way through the air. "Orochimaru-sama will be pleased."

A blue blade illuminated from the darkness. Just when the figure was about to step out from the shadows, he froze. He stood there, stiffly, before suddenly making a sharp retreat back into his hiding place. A light gasp was heard as the colour of crimson flickered across the night sky. Gentle flaps of delicate wings disturbed the air.

"Why is he here?" The figure silently cursed.

He stared at the crimson blotch before finally noticing the owner of the wings that was blinding the night. A pure black kimono flutteredin the still air, revealing soft, delicately pale skin hidden underneath. Long raven hair spilled down the insect's back, bound together to prevent those silk like hairs from scattering.

Itachi soundlessly landed, the pink flower's head dipping down from the extra weight. Feeling the unnatural movement, Deidara gasped as he broke out from his thought. He spun around in alarm, but he quickly relaxed when he saw who it was standing behind him.

"Oh…Itachi un." He sighed in relief before freezing up again.

"Itachi!" He screamed in realization as his eyes snapped back to Itachi's face. When he remembered his tear stained cheeks, he quickly looked down, trying to hide his face with his long bangs as he tried to clean himself. "What…why are you here?" Deidara quickly said as he tried to distract the other's attention, though he doubted it worked.

"I was following you." Itachi replied bluntly, not caring whether or not his word would cause discomfort to the other.

"Y-you were? When?"

"I heard your scream." The moth replied. When he caught the worry over the butterfly's face, he let out a very faint sigh. "Kisame, Hidan and Kakuzu are still asleep. I'm just a light sleeper."

"I-I see…" Deidara said as he slowly placed his gaze back to the ground far below.

The raven didn't speak. The blond fidgeted, but otherwise didn't say a word as well.

Finally, unable to bear the silence, Deidara finally decided that he needed to say something or he would suffocate.

"The stars are nice…un."

"Stars?"

Hearing the questioning tone in Itachi's voice, Deidara glanced up and nearly slapped himself at the thick clouds twirling over the sky. They must have gathered at some point during the time he was back in his friends' home, rolling around struggling to sleep.

"What do you want?" The blond snapped, not liking the awkwardness filling the air. Deidara hoped Itachi would take the hint and leave already. Unfortunately, the moth seemed to have some sort of grudge against him as he took a seat beside Deidara, indicating how he had no plan of leaving anytime soon.

_'What **does** he want?'_ Deidara thought nervously. He swallowed the lump in his throat and nervously shifted to a more comfortable position. As Deidara struggled against the pressure, Itachi caught every little unnatural movement of the butterfly. Very slowly, his onyx eyes gazedup at the night sky that was lightened by the deep gray clouds.

"That kimono you're wearing, it doesn't resemble yours."

"This?" Deidara slowly looked down to the black and orange kimono he was wearing. "It belonged to a Vanessa atalanta*. She was one of Sasori no Danna's meals, and since our sizes are similar, Danna gave it to me seeing how my kimono was a little…ripped…"

"I've noticed before, but you call Sasori 'Danna'." Itachi said slowly as his dark eyes shifted to the blond. "He's the reason behind your tears." It wasn't a question. It was a firm statement which Deidara knew the moth wanted answers to.

"I…" Deidara took a deep breath as he tried to find the right word. "I don't know…" He felt another tear drip down his face. He tried to control it, but he couldn't. It was just like before. When he sat here and suddenly remembered about the pleasant the times he spent with the mantis, tears just began rolling down his face.

"I don't know why. It's just…uugh…"

Itachi sat quietly to the side as he watched the blond's desperate attempts to stop. A light smile tugged on his lips.

"You've fallen in love with a very difficult insect, Deidara."

"W-what?" Deidara choked out. His head snapped to Itachi, wondering if he had actually heard right.

"You're crying because of the pain of being separated, are you not?"

"Huh?" The blond blinked away some tears that were blurring his vision and glanced up at the raven. "Separated from what?"

The moth stared at Deidara with a gaze the butterfly had come to hate. Whenever Itachi got that look in his eye, it always means that he knew something the blond didn't and that greatly irked the butterfly.

"If you have something to say, just spill it, un."

"I see…" Itachi muttered. "You haven't realized yet."

Deidara frowned. He wiped away the last of the tears, but before he could retort, Itachi quickly beat him to it.

"You're in love, Deidara."

* * *

Vanessa atalanta - It is a common and cosmopolitan Holarctic butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. They can be found in temperate Europe, Asia and North America.


	11. Beige Talk

_Beta'd by Chillybean_

* * *

Deidara stared at Itachi numbly as he tried to process the words he had just heard.

In love? With Sasori?

He wanted to laugh at the moth's ridiculous suggestion, but he couldn't. If it was Hidan breaking such news to him, he would without a second thought. But this was Itachi…and Itachi **_never _**joked. The Scarlet Tiger Moth took everything literally without even an ounce of humour.

"No way! That's impossible!" Deidara quickly denied, ignoring the sudden thumping of his heart.

"Why not?" Itachi asked calmly.

"Well for starters he's a mantis!"

"Hidan is a predator and you two are considered best friends."

"That and this are different things, un."

"How so?"

"It's– well…argh!" Deidara scratched his head furiously when he couldn't find anything to counter the moth. "Look, you don't know anything! Just leave me alone!"

"…I do." Itachi whispered. Though his voice was almost inaudible, Deidara managed to catch it. The butterfly stopped and slowly glanced over at the raven who was gazing into the distance. He couldn't believe what he heard. For once in his life, Itachi spoke with _emotion_. The moth had always kept a calm, monotone voice, and the blond never thought he was even capable of expressing feelings through words.

"I didn't always live here." Deidara quickly snapped out of shock when his fellow sap-sucking friend continued softly. "I used to live near the forest's lake before I met Kisame."

"Ok?" Deidara mumbled, wondering what Itachi was playing at. Or rather, why in the world was he even telling him this?

"I tried to kill him when we first met."

Deidara nearly choked on his own saliva and fell off the flower. "W-what?" He coughed as his bluebell eyes fell to the moth with a stupefied look on his face.

"You tried to _kill_ Kisame no Danna?" Deidara asked, wanting to confirm that he had heard right. That was the least he had expected from Itachi, seeing as how him and his mate were always so close. He couldn't really tell with Itachi, but Kisame adored the moth more than anything else in the world.

The blond had always thought that they met- well, Deidara hadn't really thought about how the two had met. But however it went, it was definitely not the two of them trying to tear each other's throat out.

"During the time I was in the forest, I was chased."

"Chased?" Deidara's eyes widened when he realized who Itachi was talking about. "Orochimaru!"

"Yes…" Itachi said slowly. "You have heard from Hidan?"

"He kind of told me once…but it's very vague, un. Danna and the others didn't say much about it either."

Itachi stared at the blond, but he didn't question who the others were that Deidara was referring to. "Like the rest of the Akatsuki, I was born an outcast."

"Akatsuki?"

"That's the name of our group. It was the name that Tobi insisted upon." The raven explained. He slowly closed his eyes, opening them a few seconds later to reveal scarlet irises. Deidara gasped slightly, recognizing those eyes as the same ones that had glared at Sasori.

"I was born with these eyes – the reason I was an outcast from the sanctuary." The moth began. "They allow me to create illusions in the minds of individuals. The illusions I create are ones that harm and even take away lives."

Deidara's eyes grew wide in shock.

"Orochimaru liked these eyes, so he wanted to make me his. When I rejected him, he began sending insects after me. Having nothing to defend myself with from attacking predators, I had to rely on these." Itachi slowly raised a hand and brushed his fingers gently over his eyelids. "Although I was able to survive by this power, there was a drawback. The stress the illusions caused my eyes was great. I was forced to activate my eyes at all times, and due to that I was on the boarder of becoming blind. Although my sight has healed with time, my eyes have become overly sensitive and I can no longer stand the light of the sun."

"So the reason you can't go out in daylight is because of that?"

The moth responded with a curt nod. "I met Kisame one moon and had thought that he was one of Orochimaru's followers, so I attacked him."

Itachi slowly looked up to see how drawn into the story the blond was. There was so much excitement flashing in his eyes that the moth couldn't help but find himself smiling lightly.

"I despised him because he made me feel strange. Never had I felt so infuriated by another's presence before. I didn't know what it meant back then until I lost the warmth…"

"What did you mean by _lost_?" Deidara asked, but Itachi didn't answer his question. He just looked up and his crimson eyes glistened in the moonlight.

"As living creatures, we never know what we have until it leaves us."

The butterfly blinked. If he didn't know any better, he could have sworn that the sentence was directed at him.

"Deidara, do you understand why I am telling you this?"

"Well…no, not really." The butterfly admitted sheepishly. "But I'm really happy, un." He quickly said. "This is the first time you've actually talked about yourself. The only parts of your past that I've ever heard never came from your mouth."

"Sasori and I are the same." Itachi said softly. "Emotions are something we cannot understand as our only goal is to survive in this world. Friends and companionship aren't sensations we are fond of. There was a time when I believed that such things only got in the way. However, after meeting Kisame, I came to realize something I thought I wasn't capable of." The moth turned and slowly raised his pale hand. His index finger reached out and lightly jabbed the butterfly's chest, over where his heart rested.

"Affection." Itachi's eyes captured Deidara's and the butterfly suddenly found himself unable to look away.

"Umm, I don't think I'm following. I mean, I get what you mean, un. It's just, I'm not really sure what you're trying to tell–"

"What I am saying is that your feelings for Sasori are mutual."

Deidara stared at the moth, mouth agape as he slowly let the words sink in. "What!" He exclaimed when he finally found his voice. "Wait, I mean– you're saying that Danna…likes me?"

"I told you. Sasori and I are the same." Itachi smiled.

"No, that's a huge stretched! How did you come to a conclusion like that?"

"When I saw Sasori, I could see the confusion and frustration of not being able to understand the foreign emotions he had never felt before. I didn't think much of it at first, but now that I have sat down and given it some thought, I realize that he had the same expression I had shortly after meeting Kisame."

"Look, I'm happy you came to cheer me up, and no offensive, but I really think you're over-thinking these–" The blond cut himself off with a fake yawn. As much as he enjoyed hearing some of Itachi's past, he has no desire to listen to anymore of the moth's ridiculous deductions.

Falling for the act and believing that the butterfly was tired, Itachi let out a light sigh as he got to his feet.

"Let's go back."

Deidara nearly beamed, but he quickly put on a tired expression and nodded. The blond stood up only to remember that he was on a flower. He peered over the edge of the bud, frowning at the realization of how high he was. The height didn't seem to matter when he was climbing his way up. The countless leaves he had used for support to get up now seemed like an obstacle in his way down.

As he was busy trying to figure how to climb down, Deidara didn't notice Itachi standing behind him until he felt a hand suddenly push him off. He let out a startled scream as gravity reeled him down.

Then, he felt something grab his wrists and his fall stopped.

Deidara stared at the ground below him and slowly tilted his head until the moth entered his view.

Itachi was hovering above him, his colourful wings flapping quicker than usual to stay airborne with the extra weight.

"Warn me next time, un!" The blond shouted up at the moth. For a moment there he seriously thought he was going to die!

Itachi didn't say anything. Gripping onto the tan wrists tighter, he was flying towards the direction of his home when he caught sight of a flash in the bushes in the distance. Instantly, the moth flew down to the ground, dropping a confused butterfly onto a blade of grass before darting off.

"Hey!" Deidara clenched onto the swaying grass as he watched Itachi land in the distance. "What's his problem?" The blond wondered out loud. He waited for a few seconds. When he didn't see the moth come back up, he slid off the grass and hurried towards where the moth went.

Once he pushed past the tall grass, Deidara emerged into a small clearing of dirt and saw Itachi pushing at the leaves of a bush. The butterfly didn't know what the moth was doing, but from his actions, it seemed as though Itachi was searching for something.

"What are you looking for?" The blond walked up to the raven. Itachi didn't reply. He just kept pulling at the leaves and twigs. Although Deidara had no idea what was going on, he decided to help. He pulled apart the leaves and looked inside, but it was too dark to see. The thought of a spider or some sort of predator jumping out sent an unpleasant shiver down his spine. He looked over at the moth with uncertain eyes, but Itachi didn't seem frightened in the slightest. Then again, Itachi was technically a moon dweller, so he must be used to these things.

"Let's go." Itachi's voice snapped Deidara back to reality as he pulled his hands from the leaves.

"Aren't you looking for something though?"

"No…I just…" The moth looked over the bush with slightly narrowed eyes. "I thought I saw something. I suppose it was my imagination."

"Oh…alright." Deidara shrugged, deciding not to question anymore. He followed Itachi away as the two vanished into the tall patches of grass.

Shortly after their departure, a pale hand stretched out from within the dark bush, peeling open to reveal a white-haired beetle.

"As expected of Itachi. His senses are sharp." The insect snarled out the last part in distaste as he adjusted his round glasses. He waited inside his hiding place. After he deemed that it was safe, he ran out from the bushes and into the nearest shadow to keep hidden.

"Orochimaru-sama will be pleased to hear this." Was all he mumbled before he vanished into the darkness.

~0~

"Hey Blondie!"

Deidara whimpered at the pounding against his door. He dug his face deeper into the dried patches of grass, but he was unable to block out the sound.

"Deidara! You awake or what?"

Finally unable to take it anymore, the butterfly walked over to the door, swinging it open just as the dragonfly was about to give another hard knock.

"I'm up, un." He yawned into his hand tiredly. "What is it, Hidan?"

"Breakfast." Hidan replied as he took in the dark bags under the golden-winged insect's eye. "You look like shit."

"Couldn't sleep, un."

"Seriously, how do you survive the Silent Cycle* if you can't sleep without flowers?" Hidan asked as he stared at the grass-knitted roundish bed. The inside of the bed was clearly hollow, stuffed with various soft things to give the bed a bouncy texture. There was no doubt that it was Itachi's work; the moth was the only one with hands delicate enough to create such a feat.

All that was missing were some cottony bed sheets (which the owners lacked in all the guest rooms).

"Yeah…well…" Deidara trailed off. He couldn't tell Hidan that the reason he couldn't sleep was because of the lack of floral comfort. The real reason behind it was because of Itachi's words from last night. Even after returning, he couldn't find himself to forget about everything the moth had said to him.

He couldn't help but wonder, what if Itachi was miraculously right?

What if Sasori really had…some degree of feeling for him?

Whenever Deidara thought of the possibility, he felt his heart threatening to leap out from within his ribcage.

"Come on." Hidan rolled his eyes as he headed for the living room where everyone was waiting. Deidara trailed after his friend with tired eyes.

Deidara briefly wondered what the red-haired mantis was doing, but that only brought back the reminder of the harsh words he said before throwing him right into Itachi.

"Jerk."

"Hah?" Hidan turned, thinking that the butterfly was saying that to him. Just when the Jashinist was about to counter with his swears, he stumbled just in time to avoid getting walked into by the butterfly.

Deidara continued his way down his hall while muttering a string of inaudible words, seeming to not even realize that the dragonfly wasn't in front of him anymore.

Hidan stared until the blond disappeared around a corner. "What the fuck did I do?"

~0~

"Oh? Itachi?" A sinister chuckle echoed through the hollow of the tree. "There's a nostalgic name. And you say this _Deidara_ is with him?"

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama." The white-haired beetle replied as he stared at the cicada sitting before him. "I couldn't hear anything due to the distance, but from what I could tell, they appear to be close companions. Unfortunately, Itachi seemed to have detected my presence, so I was unable to follow them to their living location."

"Hn, I expected as much." Orochimaru smirked widely to show off his sharp fangs. "If Itachi is with him, then that means so is that wasp and those friends of theirs. This is perfect."

"I don't think I understand."

"Just think, Kabuto." Orochimaru rose from his seat. "If I have that butterfly, then he'll become the perfect bait to capture Itachi."

"But what about those friends of Itachi's?" Kabuto questioned. "Last time–"

"The only reason Itachi slipped through my grasp was because of his eyes." The cicada cut off his follower. "That butterfly is a meadow insect. Those creatures have no experience in combat. As long as I have him as a hostage, even Itachi won't dare to attack. In the past, it may have been different, but he has grown weak after meeting that wasp."

Snickers echoed into the darkness as golden eyes gleamed in delight.

"Soon, Deidara…I'll have you very soon, and then Itachi."

* * *

Silent Cycle – The silent cycle has been mentioned in the Christmas special. It indicates winter – a time of truce between all insects.

* * *

**Update issues**

Due to school works getting heavier, I can no longer guarantee a monthly update. I will try my best to keep up to schedule, but I just want everyone to know that if things starts to get tough, I will leave my story for a while and resume when summer comes. I'm hoping not to get to that, as this story doesn't have that many chapters left…but like I said, there are no guarantees. I will try my best and write whenever I get the time, but I hope everyone can understand if I missed a month…or two. If I do decide to put it on hold till summer, I will definitely post a notice to tell everyone.


	12. Onyx World

Firstly, I must apologize to every one of the late update. School is pretty stressful just a while back but things are finally letting up now that May is here so Morning Orchid is officially back! Thank you for all for your kind supports and patience and thank you Chillybean for still being able to continue to be my beta-reader even after such a long delay. I also need to thank all the reviewers. Your understanding comments to my situation really put me at ease.

Some of you may have noticed, but the Christmas Special has been removed. I did it because I don't want to spoil much for any newer readers that has just recently discovered this story. I will repost the Christmas Special once the story is completed.

I hope you'll all enjoy this chapter. Update time will now return to normal, meaning a chapter per month!

* * *

_Beta'd by Chillybean_

* * *

"I wonder what Danna is doing." Deidara whispered as he stared up at the white clouds drifting in the sky. He felt that itch in his heart return, the same itch that he had gotten familiar with in the three suns following the reuniting with his friends.

He held his hand towards the sky, his blue bell eyes staring at the pink scar on his palm.

_"You're in love, Deidara."_ Itachi's voice echoed in the back of his mind, causing the blond to let out a frustrated scream as he sat up from the soft cotton of the cotton flower and furiously scratched his head.

"Why can't I get his words off my mind?" He shouted, ignoring the stares from a couple of passing insects.

"What the hell are you doing?"

The butterfly turned, recognizing the voice and the buzzing sound of wings, to see the silver haired dragonfly hovering in the air behind him. "You're supposed to be getting the cotton, and I come here and find you lazing around."

"You're one to talk, un." Deidara countered as his friend landed beside him. "You're supposed to be gathering sticks, yet here you are at the cotton flower field. Aren't you the one slacking off?"

"Ya caught me there." Hidan laughed. "Like hell I'd pick up some branches just for that prick."

Deidara stared as another cloud drifted by before looking over at the dragonfly. "Say, Hidan…"

"What?"

"How did you and Kakuzu no Danna got together?" The blond asked curiously.

"Ah?" Magenta coloured eyes landed on the blond insect. "What brought this up?"

"Just wondering…" Deidara mumbled. "You and Kakuzu no Danna didn't seem to have anything in common, and you two even argue most of the time, unlike Itachi and Kisame no Danna…"

"As if I remember. That was ages ago!" Hidan waved his hand, but stopped when he noticed the dull look on his companion's face. The dragonfly glanced up at the sky. He then heaved out a heavy sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Tch…how did it happened again?" He spoke his thoughts out loud. Deidara glanced at the dragonfly who was digging for the past in his mind. "Well, it just happened."

"Just…happened?" Deidara asked slowly.

"Well yeah, we hate each other's guts, right?" Hidan snorted. "I guess that's the only thing that kept pulling us together. It's hard to forget the face of a jackass. The first thing I wanted do was punch him in the face when we first met, not that I don't have that kind of feeling now."

"Then how did you come to like him?" The butterfly pushed on.

"Like him!" The dragonfly squawked, causing the butterfly to jump back in surprise. "Who the hell in their right mind would like that fucking bastard?" He blew in the blond's face.

"Huh? Wait…eh?" Deidara opened and closed his mouth, unable to form any words as Hidan jumped to his feet and stomped down on the flower, causing it to sway wildly.

"It's always 'money this and money that' with him! Ordering people to work day and night as though they're his slaves…!" Hidan then trailed off with a string of curses and swears that made the blond shifted uncomfortably. The butterfly clutched onto the cotton and looked down at the ground. He gulped, having no doubt that if Hidan kept this up the stem would snap from the pressure and the two of them would fall.

"Hidan, calm–"

"But," Hidan suddenly stopped his tantrum, causing the blond to look up in question, knowing that the dragonfly didn't stop because of him. "He has some good points. He's nice when he wants to be, though he's always too shy to admit it." The silver-ette cackled. "Even though he always puts on that I-don't-give-a-damn act, he actually knows everything that's been going on. Like that time when I twisted my ankle. That bastard acted as though he didn't notice, but later that day he…"

Deidara stared intensely at Hidan's face, no longer able to hear his words as his ears drowned out the other's voice. The dragonfly didn't seem to realize it, but he was now speaking of his lover with complete fondness. The hatred and irritation from before was gone, as though none of it had ever existed.

The blond recognized the face his friend was making. It was an expression of happiness mixed with some other emotions he couldn't make out. He was instantly reminded of the expression Itachi had during their talk that night. The moth had this peacefulness rather than the excitement and joy Hidan was showing. The two expressions on the two creatures were very different, yet strangely similar.

"Oi!" Hidan glowered at his friend. "Are you even listening? I'm telling you this because you asked!"

_"When I saw Sasori, I could see the confusion and frustration of not being able to understand the foreign emotions he had never felt before. I didn't think much of it at first, but now that I have sat down and given it some thought, I realize that he had the same expression I had shortly after meeting Kisame."_ Itachi's voice returned, only much louder and clearer than the last time.

"That same expression…" Deidara muttered. Then with a gasp, he quickly jumped onto his feet, startling the dragonfly by his sudden movement. "Sorry, Hidan, you go back first, un." The blond said, ignoring the dragonfly's shouts as he quickly took off into the air. He winced at the soreness in his wings. He knew he shouldn't try flying until fully healed, but he had to go there.

The faster he flapped, the more pain Deidara felt stabbing his scapula. The blond was forced to land shortly after, his right wing paralyzed by the pain. He ran the rest of the way, stumbling over blades of grass until he burst out into a clearing. The sunlight beamed down from behind a lump of cloud, causing the water of the pond to shimmer brilliantly.

The butterfly knelt down at the edge and poked his head over the surface of the water to see his own reflection. His lips dropped into a deep frown when he couldn't find what he was searching for.

"I don't have it." The blond whispered almost devastatingly. "They all have that expression, but I don't have it, un."

The butterfly sat back and glanced at the sun that had hidden behind the cloud again. "They all…have it." The blond remembered all the times he had seen his mated friends interact with each other.

"What did Itachi mean by Danna having the same expression?" Deidara choked out a laugh at the thought. "The only face he ever had on was that scowl. There's no way…"

Deidara's words trailed off as an image of a scowling Sasori entered his mind. He could clearly remember that scowl glued to the predator's face like a mask. "That kind of stupid face, there's no way he could…" A tear rolled down his cheek as he remembered that cocky smile the Orchid Mantis would show when he won a conversation or got something to go his way. He remembered how irritated he would look whenever he claimed that the butterfly was wasting his 'precious time'.

And then…he remembered that smile. The very first smile Sasori had ever shown him. Even if the red head's actual intention wasn't all that admirable, it was still a beautiful smile nonetheless. It wasn't a smile like the ones any of his friends had shown. It was a smile that solely belonged to Sasori.

That smile carried the mantis' arrogance, his superiority complex, his confidence, and…

Deidara's eyes widened as he suddenly found himself staring at the red haired predator on the surface of the water. He stared down at that same smile that had quickened his heartbeat and had made blood rush to his face. When a droplet of salty water fell from his chin and landed into the water, it created ripples, destroying the mantis' image as Deidara gasped.

"Danna!" He instinctively reached out in attempt to grasp that image, but it was too late.

Instead of auburn eyes, a pair of blue-gray ones stared back at him. The butterfly stared at the yellow knitted eyebrows and the tear-stained cheeks. The pain in his heart was back as Deidara used his bare hands in an attempt to stop his crying, but he only succeeded in making it worse. He stared down at his own face that was so different than the one he was hoping to see.

It wasn't like the ones Itachi and Hidan had expressed. It was a completely different one—opposite even, filled with hurt and bitterness. However, there was one part that was similar. A very small part, but nowhere near insignificant.

Deidara's eyes widened when realization hit his head like a ton of rocks.

He knew what it was. That one emotion that acted as link to tie all those different expressions together.

"Affection." Deidara slowly repeated the very word Itachi had told him. Tears spilled even faster as he cried into his knees, chanting the name of the mantis like a mantra.

He wanted to see him.

Even if Sasori didn't want him anymore, he wanted to see him even if was just one last time.

"Danna…" The butterfly sniffed before jumping onto his feet. "I have to go see him, un."

He honestly has no idea what he would say when he saw the mantis again, but he couldn't deny the emptiness inside him any longer. He wanted—he _needed_ to see Sasori.

The blond stretched his wings, but he instantly regretted it as pain jolt through his body again. Swallowing the saliva gathered in his mouth, Deidara knew that he had no choice but to walk. Just as he turned towards the direction of the forest, a pair of hands suddenly shot out from the tall blades of grass and grabbed him by his injured wing.

With a scream of pain, Deidara was thrown to a part of the ground hidden from the sun by the long grass.

"Who– hmmph!" The butterfly let out a muffled scream into the piece of cotton pressed tightly against his nose and mouth. Knowing most likely what the cotton was used for, the butterfly stopped his breath. He glared at the insect who was straddling his hips, but it was difficult to see any features because the sun was directly behind his attacker, cloaking the creature in nothing but a dark silhouette.

With a muffled cry, Deidara brought up his knees to kick the back of his attacker. However, the insect's back was unbelievably hard. To the butterfly, it felt like hitting rock and his useless attacks only succeeded in hurting himself. Just from that fact, the butterfly knew that he was dealing with an insect from the beetle family. Since beetles were weak in the front that was where he tried to aim next, but his attacker had apparently calculated the distance. The beetle was sitting back just enough so that the butterfly's fist wouldn't reach him, and with his longer arms, he was still able to keep the butterfly's head against the soil.

Growing frantic with hardly any air inside his lungs, Deidara hammered against the arm and scratched at the hands. He tried to do everything he could to pry the cotton off, but nothing he did affected the beetle.

"Just give up and– Ugah!" Whatever the butterfly's attacker was about to say, he never got the chance to finish as Deidara scratched out a handful of gold and black coloured scales from his wing and threw it at the insect's face. The beetle cried out in pain as one of his hands flew to his eyes. Taking his chance, Deidara twisted his body and threw the other insect off. He took in a gulp of air the instant the cotton was removed from his face and scrambled to his feet.

Without even glancing back to see what his attacker looked like, the blond made a run for it, but he found it difficult as the muscles in his legs were weak from the lack of air.

"Deidara!" The blond suddenly heard the muffled voice call from the distance. His face instantly brightened as he hurriedly looked up to the sky.

"Hida– Ah!" Deidara choked out as an arm suddenly shot out from behind him and wrapped around his throat to seal off his windpipe. The butterfly scratched at the arm and kicked back in attempt to hit the insect. When his bluebell eyes caught sight of a certain dragonfly passing over their heads, he immediately tried to call out to him once more. However, the only thing that could escape was a strangled whine.

"Yo blondie, stop fooling around! We have to go back before that bastard begins to complain again!" The dragonfly continued to shout. The butterfly watched in despair as his friend vanished into the distance without even sparing his location a look.

As time passed, the blond's struggling eventually ceased. His lungs hurt from the desperate need for oxygen and his face was burning from the trapped blood in his head. His arms fell to his side; no longer did he have the strength to lift even a finger. His knees gave in, but he didn't fall because of the insane grip on his neck. Just as the blond thought he would die from suffocation, the arm around his neck suddenly loosened.

With his mind hazy from the lack of air, thinking was no longer something the Swallowtail Butterfly was capable of. The second he was given the chance, the blond gulped in air, never realizing how the piece of cotton was back, pressed tightly over his face.

As darkness consumed Deidara's vision, he heard a dark, unpleasant chuckle beside his ear.

~0~

Sasori stared at the sack of nectar in his hand. He twirled the thing around before glancing down at the armour and blood stained clothes of his breakfast. After giving the nectar another long look, the mantis turned to the shelf before him that was stocked with many packages just like the one he held in his hand, all of them being spoils from his meals.

"You've been staring at that for a long time." The voice of a male suddenly spoke. The red head didn't react. He kept his gaze firm on the stack of nectars, letting his eyes linger a bit longer before they narrowed into a sharp glare.

"What do you want?" He spat out, not in the mood to deal with his uninvited guest.

"I'm just curious as to what you would do with that." The creature spoke as footsteps echoed through the room. "The last time I checked, mantis didn't eat these things, or has your taste changed over the cycles, Sasori?"

A hand stretched into the mantis' view and the calloused fingers brushed over the package in Sasori's hand.

"If you're not going to eat it, I'll–" With a quick flick of his wrist, Sasori smacked the hand away and turned to glare at the Large Milkweed Bug*.

"What do you want, Yahiko?"

"That was just a joke. You didn't have to hit me for real." The orange haired creature said as he waved around his reddening hand.

"You've known me long enough to know that I don't enjoy jokes." The mantis said dryly. "What do you want?" He repeated the question that he had yet to receive an answer to.

"It's just been a long time, and I thought I'd visit to see how you're doing." Yahiko said with a light smile before glancing down at the discarded clothes. "I caught you dinner as a present, but it seems that you've already eaten."

The bug trailed off in a hum as though debating what to do. Sasori simply looked away with a click of his tongue as a sign of his irritation. He silently cursed Nagato in the back of his mind. He had no doubt that Yahiko's appearance before him was linked to the Assassin Bug.

"In any case, it shouldn't matter, right?" The sap-sucking insect spoke up again. "You can always save her for when you're hungry."

Sasori looked up just as Yahiko gave the string in his hand a hard tug. He turned to the doorway and his eyes flew wide when a butterfly stumbled in. The mantis' eyes widened at the sight of the beautiful, shimmering gold wings that carried patches of blue. Long blond hair fluttered around the butterfly's feminine frame as the creature collapsed on the floor. The mantis instantly grabbed the hand that was gripping the sting binding the creature. He parted his lips, about to snap at the bug when an unfamiliar yelp reached his ear.

The voice wasn't deep. Instead it was light and held a higher pitch.

Sasori turned his eyes to the butterfly. The illusionary image of a certain blond in his mind shattered as he realized that this Swallowtail was not the same Swallowtail he had grown accustom to. For one thing, this butterfly wasn't simply just _feminine_, she was a female. Her wings were smaller, hair much longer and paler than the one he knew, and it was tied into a tail at the back of her head. Her long bangs covered the right side of her face, not the left. Her exposed eye was nowhere near the brilliant blue the brat from his memory had.

Yahiko looked down at the hand that had released his. A sly smirk slid over his lips, but it was wiped away when he turned to the mantis. "What's wrong, Sasori?" He asked, giving a hard tug on the rope that caused the butterfly to whine out in pain.

Sasori said nothing. He just stared at the butterfly that was trembling in fright. She had her eyes closed, her face turned to the ground and her body curled up, revealing a pale leg that was twisted at the knee joint.

"Sasori?"

"Throw her out." The mantis said coldly, ignoring the stunned look from his companion and the hopeful look from the food.

"You don't have to be so cold." The milkweed bug said. "Still angry about the joke?"

"I've already ate." The red head ground out. He glared down at the butterfly. He knew this female wasn't _him_, he knew, but the similarity was still there, not to mention the fact that she was the same species.

"Keeping this thing around is meaningless. Throw her out." The mantis didn't give his companion any options. It was a demand, and the orange haired bug would be brainless as not to notice.

"But I've spent quite some time capturing her. Papilionidae aren't common in this area after all." Yahiko pushed on, but he was ignored as Sasori stepped around the butterfly and headed for the door. When the orange haired insect realized how the other wasn't about to change his decision, he sighed.

"If you're full, it can't be helped. I'll give her to Tobi and Nagato then. I was going to visit them after–" Yahiko was cut off when the mantis suddenly slammed his fully extended blade into the door, slicing the wood into pieces before slamming into the wall, causing it to cave in and crumble. The butterfly screamed through her gag and ducked her head in fear as dust and sand from the impact showered over her.

_Not the same._Those three words echoed painfully when Sasori saw how the butterfly reacted. He didn't even hit her and she was already curled up from fright. It was a pathetic sight, something that the butterfly he knew would never do.

"**Throw her out.** I won't repeat myself a third time." Sasori said as his blade scattered into threads. He then walked away, leaving Yahiko alone in the room with the still terrified butterfly.

The milkweed bug waited until the mantis' presence completely disappeared before he decided to leave the mantis' house, knowing better than to push his luck. Once outside in the open air, he knelt down by the prey he had caught. He spun out a small, black dagger that was polished and sharp. With a flick of his wrist, he cut off the bindings from the butterfly he had caught.

"Leave." He hissed darkly. "If you don't get out of my sight within ten seconds, I will feed you to a spider."

With a sharp intake of breath and a furious nod of her head, the butterfly flew as fast as her wings could take her just to get away from the supposedly peaceful species. Now alone, Yahiko let out a small chuckle as he tossed the rope aside and glanced at the entrance to the mantis' home behind him.

"I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it with my own eyes. Who would have thought for Sasori to…" Yahiko trailed off with a chuckle as he pulled out a pack of nectar from the large sleeve of his cloak.

"I guess my job here is done." He smirked down at the nectar he had taken before coming back out. He was sure Sasori wouldn't mind, seeing as how the mantis had no sweet tooth and wouldn't be using them anytime soon. At least, not yet.

"I should go back and tell Nagato that the plan was a success."

* * *

Large Milkweed Bug (Yahiko) – From the Hemiptera order of bugs and the Lygaeidae family. It feeds mainly on grains, particularly those of the milkweed. Because the Milkweed Bugs feed on milkweed, these insects are fairly safe from predators due to the fact that the chemicals in the milkweed sap are toxic. It's the same concept as the Monarch Butterfly.


End file.
